An Old Knight
by Yami Hime Hikari
Summary: There was a Pillar and Knights before Emeraude, right? Well, now one of those Knights must help our favorite characters save Formerly Cephiro again. But what if she hates Cephiro and all it stands for? What are the Knights to do? Chapter 14 is up!
1. The Return

**AN:** First MKR fic! Finally on paper! Hurrah! My brothers are glad because now I'm not just telling it to them. They didn't like Rayearth that much to begin with and I think I made them hate it. ;; Sob, sob.

Takes place a year after the Rayearth Manga ends, so you have to read that to understand this since I use no references to the anime, having seen only the episode with Ascot in Selece'shrine. And I assume that there was a year between books 3 and 4, which makes the Knights 16 and in tenth grade. Cephiro is now 'Formerly Cephiro' since the end of the sixth book said for the reader to pick the new name and I wanted to make it easier for others to read since everyone who's read the manga knows that name. Tell me if any info is wrong, okay?

**Disclaimer:** You though I owned Rayearth?! Ha, ha ha! I wish! But I don't. Boo hoo. All OCs are MINE! Anyone or anything that does not appear in the manga is MINE!!!!

**The Return**

Hikaru Shido's dog, Hikari, ate his dinner while she stroked his fur. They'd been together since Hikaru was a little girl. She was the only one who could interrupt him while he was eating. Hikaru's face was troubled, as was her spirit. Two things bothered her. One was in another world and the other was at school.

Recently, when she and the two other Magic Knights had taken a trip to Cephiro, the world itself seemed subtly different and once or twice alarms in the castle had gone off so everyone had to leave in a hurry. The Knights hadn't managed to convince Clef or the others to give them any information.

The problem at school was a new girl. Normally that wouldn't bother Hikaru, but there was something about this girl… She didn't talk much; the teacher explained that the girl hadn't spoken more than ten words total since a traumatic event six years before.

It was not the silence that bothered Hikaru so much as the girl's manner. She never stood up for herself, but stood up for Hikaru, getting her point across to the very few bullies in a way that always got her detention and a few bruises. (No prizes for guessing what it is.)

She kept looking at Hikaru strangely. It was unnerving. Hikaru was reminded vividly of Cephiro in every form she'd ever seen it every time she laid eyes on the girl. The new girl looked at Hikaru that seemed like she was studying Hikaru and trying to warn her of something.

The girl looked so sad. But the teacher _had_ said she'd had a very traumatic event happen to her. Maybe she still regretted something she'd done at the time. Hikaru still remembered how full of regret she'd felt after Emeraude's death, after she and her friends together had killed her as Emeraude had wished. Hikaru had managed to come to terms with it when she was summoned again and learned more about why the last Pillar had done what she'd done.

_Why does it feel like the two are connected? 'Formerly' Cephiro and all that happened there, and the new girl? What's going on? _Hikaru wondered. After glancing at her watch and realizing what time it was, she stopped stroking Hikari and quickly jumped to her feet. Hikari stopped eating to look up quizzically at his friend and mistress.

"Sorry, boy," she apologized with a final stroke. "I have to go. I promise I'll be back soon and I'll give you a long walk then." She raced to the door as Hikari went back to eating, shoved her boots on, and was halfway out the door before any of her brothers knew it.

"Hikaru," her eldest brother called. "Where are you going?"

"I promised to meet Umi and Fuu, remember Satoru?" she replied.

"Will you be back by dinner?"  
"Sure!" With this short exchange of words Hikaru was racing down the street toward Tokyo Tower. (We all know what happens when she goes _there_, don't we? Hee, hee.)

"Good-bye, honey," Mrs. Ryuzaaki called after her daughter, Umi.

"See you at dinner," Umi called, her long blue hair and school uniform swirling around her as she turned back toward her parents to wave as she ran off, picnic basket in hand.

"She's so energetic nowadays," Mrs. Ryuzaaki commented to her husband next to her.

"Yes, just as she was this time last year and all the time since," he said, his eyes following his daughter's speedy form as she turned a corner and vanished from his sight. His wife noticed his look.

"Maybe she did fall in love last year like we thought and just isn't willing yet to introduce us to him," she suggested, hugging her husband.

"We can only hope," Mr. Ryuzaaki replied. "Hopefully she'll get up the courage soon. I would like to meet the man who's made my precious daughter so happy."

"I'm going now," Fuu told her sister as she unlatched the front gate. Kuu turned from her weeding in the garden to look at the younger girl.

"Are you going to Tokyo Tower again?" she asked. Fuu nodded, readjusting her grip on her bag. _How in the name of magic did Umi manage to convince me to bake cookies?_ she wondered. _I'm not a very good cook and she knows it. Why didn't she make them? Hers are so much better._

"You're going everyday now. Bring me back some of those chocolate hearts, okay?" Kuu called after her sister as Fuu opened the gate.

"Sure thing," she called back with a laugh. Kuu had such a sweet tooth. Making sure the door latched properly, she set a fast pace toward the landmark that was also a tourist sight and memorable spot for her and others.

Tokyo Tower. Grand tourist sight, place many school field trips went to, high enough to see the entire city from the observation deck… and place of another world's worth of memories. Upon reaching the nearly empty observation deck, Hikaru was swamped with memories. Fuu giving her change for the binoculars, seeing Umi for the first time, the floor turning to water and pulling her under, meeting Clef and Mokona, battling in the Spring of Eterna, Presea making her evolving weapon, meeting Rayearth, the Battle against Emeraude, seeing Lantis, discovering that he was Zagato's brother, fighting against Eagle for the first time, Mokona revealing himself as the creator of Cephiro, Mokona pulling her and Eagle to Tokyo to fight, discovering _she_ was the new Pillar, coming back with Eagle, the Mashin becoming the one mashin a second time so she and Umi and Fuu could speak to Mokona, and him leaving with the Mashin as the three girls floated there and came back down to their loved ones, Umi to Ascot, Fuu to Ferio, she herself coming down holding Eagle to Lantis. She stood by the railing, looking out and seeing only the memories one after another until someone grabbed her from behind. It turned out to be Umi, clutching a hamper and grinning. Fuu was less than a foot behind, also holding a bag. Hikaru wondered what her friends had planned.

"Well, let's go!" Umi urged. Laughing at their taller friend's impatience, Hikaru and Fuu agreed and the three of them clasped hands, forming a small circle. Their power surged around them again and they were transported to Formerly Cephiro.

One of the three other people on the top floor noticed the short flash of light and opening of a portal that no one should be able to notice. _No freakin' way,_ she thought, brushing her blond bangs out of her astonished eyes. _I did _not_ just see what I thought I saw. Have Magic Knights been summoned again? Who's the new Pillar? Am I going to have to go back there again?_ She shivered in her t-shirt and jeans as though in response to her thoughts. _What's that fluffball Mokona doing now?_

**AN:** Short, I know. Sorry, but I wanted a cliffhanger ending so people may continue to read this and I wanted to put in this girl. Yes, she's my OC (duh). She obviously has a bit of history with Cephiro and has some business to attend to involving Mokona. Hee, hee. Hear the poor creator scream in terror. Maybe. Not sure what I'll have her do to the little fluffball, supposing either of them show up in Formerly Cephiro. Loads of apologies for OOCness as I started writing this while my Rayearth manga was being borrowed and has just been returned. I'm trying to keep the girls' personalities the same, but the most sincere apoligies if they stray in the slightest. Please help me correct any in the later chapters!


	2. Summoned

**AN:** Only one person reviewed… I'm so sad ;;

Tell me if I have any facts mixed up. This is based entirely on the manga since I've only seen a single anime episode and that was in Japanese and on video. Takes place one year after the manga ends. If you think I've rated it too high or too low, tell me immediately! I'm trying to be as accurate as possible.

_Italics_ mean extra emphasis or thoughts.

**Disclaimer:** If I've never seen the anime, I don't think I own Rayearth. Don't the authors get to see their creation being animated? I do own my OC, Samantha, who will appear in this story and be in it to the end and this claiming of her is placed here and it includes my ownership of her for every chapter so I don't have to put it down every time.

Review Replies!

**blackmagic:** Here it is! Glad you like it! Could you put some stories for us to read?

**Summoned**

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu felt their own magic swirl around each of them as they were gently deposited a few inches above the tiled floor of the Throne Room. Umi giggled when she opened her eyes and saw their audience. Hikaru and Fuu opened their eyes at the giggle and realized that Guru Clef, Presea, Ferio, Lantis, and Ascot were there. Fuu and Umi smiled as their feet hit the floor and went to Ferio and Ascot, respectively. Hikaru hugged Presea, greeted Clef and the others, and went over to Lantis to discuss Eagle's health. Primera was mercifully elsewhere.

"Has Eagle changed at all since our last visit, Lantis?" she inquired.

"No, he's still the same and is glad of your company, though he wishes he could open his eyes again," Lantis told her with a smile.

"I'm glad everyone's so happy," Fuu told Ferio as they watched the others chatter.

"Thank you for coming," Ferio told her. Fuu looked surprised. The only time she had ever missed a visit was when she'd been so sick she couldn't stand. "You always brighten my day," he explained as he slipped one of his earrings off his ear and placed it on her hand, just as he did every time she came. Just like every time, she blushed as he kissed her hand. She didn't object, but it never ceased to surprise her.

"Fuu! Come with me and Ascot," Umi called from the floor. "We're going to fix the things we need for the party and we need your cookies!" Fuu nodded and left the dais to follow the two to the kitchen. Ferio and the rest watched them leave.

"Lantis and I are going to go see Eagle," Hikaru told them. Presea and Clef smiled warmly at her and nodded.

"It's so strange," Presea commented as Ferio walked over to stand with them. "Before, Hikaru was so happy and cheerful, but now…"

"She's even more so with such a weight on her shoulders," Ferio finished.

"You know that though she has the title and abilities of Pillar, she's let the people decide their own fate," Clef told Ferio.

"I know, and I know that wish will stand until she dies, no matter what she wishes for. I don't believe she's ever been stronger than when she wished for the people to own this country as much if not more than her herself. She drew power from Umi and Fuu and all of us to have the strength to make such a powerful wish and make it last," he responded. His two elder companions nodded in agreement.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"How are you doing, Eagle?" Hikaru asked as she and Lantis entered.

_"I'm doing about the same. I'm glad that you believe so strongly in my health. I'm strong enough that I may be able to open my eyes before long."_ Hikaru grinned at the thought. That would be a major accomplishment for Eagle, who hadn't yet been able to see anything.

"That's wonderful!" she cried.

"Yes," Lantis agreed softly. Hikaru looked up at him. He didn't reveal his feelings often and then only in private around Eagle and her. It was wonderful that he was finally allowing people to see how he truly felt.

Suddenly, an alarm blared, shocking everyone.

"What is it?" Hikaru asked as Lantis began to rise. "What's going on? What do the alarms mean?"

Lantis sighed.

"They mean our new enemy is attacking," he told her. "Please stay with Eagle."

"No! Why didn't you tell us? We can help!" she shot back as her eyes flashed defiance.

"We didn't tell you entirely for this reason. You have no way to safely fight. In the Mashin, you can defend yourselves, but they are no longer here. We have very few craft and it is not wise to let you battle on them when you are only learning how to control them."

"Let us fight!"

"I'll summon a spirit animal for you each to ride that doesn't mind magic or battle," he gave in reluctantly. "But I am not enjoying letting you fight when I can't protect you." Hikaru smiled and ran to find the kitchen.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The picnic was all laid out on the kitchen table, ready to be taken outside.

"What are all these alarms, Ascot?" Fuu asked in worry.

"It means our new opponent is attacking," he told them.

"WHAT?!" they shrieked. Ascot winced, rubbing his ears.

"We have a new opponent who attacks this castle. They are not from anywhere near here and no one recognized them the first time. We don't even know what they really want."

"How did they get through the shield around the country?" Umi asked.

"There isn't one anymore, remember? Otherwise neither Autozam, Fahren, nor Chizeta could get here," he reminded them. Just then, Hikaru rushed in.

"Umi! Fuu! There's some new enemy," she panted.

"We know," they told her.

"Lantis said he'd summon some spirit animals for us to ride. I convinced him to let us fight," she told them. The other two cheered and all four raced out to the castle's entrance. Lantis and Primera on horseback and Clef and Ferio on foot were waiting for them, three birds with saddle platforms on their backs for the Knights.

The Knights clambered on and looked out. Everyone, all eight of them, gasped as they saw the opposition. The ships at the edge of Formerly Cephiro's airspace looked vaguely oval and were a strange mottled purple color. They appeared to be growths of some kind and were unbelievably ugly. They covered a good portion of the sky.

"Where are their weapons?" Fuu asked once she found her voice.

"Inside of the ships," Clef told them.

"Then how can they shoot?" Umi questioned.

"Holes open in the sides of the ships and the weapons stick out while they are being shot and then go back inside," Lantis replied as her searched the skies for something.

"Are we going to go?" Hikaru asked, her eyes glued on the approaching opposition. Lantis nodded and they set off.

"I'll use my magic to fight from here," Clef told them as the Knights hovered just inside the entrance. Their magic swarmed around them for a moment and when it vanished, they were in their typical, everyday, jewel-encrusted armor.

"Thanks," they called as they set off after Lantis.

When they reached a distance of sixty yards from the ships, they learned what Lantis had meant when he said the weapons stick out of holes in the ship only while shooting. They were shot at and Fuu had to use her Guardian Wind spell to shield them all. Hikaru gritted her teeth and used a Fire Arrow attack when the guns, for that was what the weapons appeared to be, opened fire again. The attack destroyed many of the oncoming missiles and took out two ships and blew up a few guns on another. The rest of the missiles never had a chance to reach their targets thanks to Umi's Ice Sword blasting them to oblivion.

"We'd be stronger and have more effect if we had Selece, Rayearth, and Windom here with us," she grumbled as she watched her attack demolish a few ships and the rest of the launched missiles.

"Well, Mokona took them with him when he left," Fuu reminded her as she launched a Green Tornado at an oncoming ship. It was destroyed but there were plenty more left. "We need a more effective way of taking them out. This isn't working." Hikaru and Umi agreed. Lantis was doing fairly well on his own but Clef's magic he was working from the castle wasn't taking any effect. The three Knights focused on their power for a moment and let loose one of their most powerful attacks.

"LIGHT SPIRAL!!" they shouted and the elements of fire, water, and wind wrapped around each other to attack the ships. There was only a small number destroyed, not many more than their separate attacks destroyed.

"That's not good," Umi noted in an only slightly panic-stricken voice.

"No, it's not," Hikaru and Fuu agreed in the same tone as they began to dodge the oncoming bullets. There were many less, so Fuu didn't need to shield them. Lantis and Primera were working together but were only managing to destroy only one ship at a time. They all were in big trouble.

The ships suddenly all opened fire at the same time. Fuu's Guardian Wind shielded them, but the force of the repercussions pushed them all back a great deal. Fuu was panting by the time the missiles had lessened enough for her to drop the shield. The commanders of the ships realized this advantage and repeated their last attack at double the force. Fuu repeated the spell. This time they were all thrown back into the castle as the spell broke from Fuu's draining energy. After pushing the Knights and Cail back so far, the ships suddenly turned and left, speeding away until they were out of Formerly Cephiro's airspace.

"Ow," Umi muttered as she crawled out from beneath the vanishing bird. "Those missiles hurt."

"Are you hurt?" Ascot asked as he rushed toward her and helped her up. She shook her head.

"I've got some bruises from our rough landing, but aside from that, just my pride." Ascot smiled in relief.

"Those missiles do hurt," Fuu agreed as she slid off her vanishing ride. "I'm sorry I couldn't hold the spell," she added as she swayed. Ferio caught her and held her steady.

"You should rest," he told her. She nodded.

Hikaru groaned as she slid off her bird. "That was bad. Getting beat like that so fast and being pushed back so far," she said as Lantis reclaimed his bird and came over to her. She allowed him to support her.

"Even one of our strongest attacks had almost no effect," Umi groused.

"Well," Clef said as he walked back out from the Throne Room where he'd been preforming his magic. "I'm afraid that leaves us only two options. I knew my spells would have little to no effect but I'd assumed that yours would have a much larger effect than they did in actuality, though you did take out many more than we have in the past. Our first option is to continue like this, which would almost definitely mean you would lose each time and you have to go home anyway so your folks don't worry. So that plan won't work.

"Our other option is that we summon another person, one who can help us. Possibly to become another Magic Knight in terms of power, magical and physical. If there were any other options, I'd tell you. But I'm afraid there aren't." He bowed his head.

"But I thought only the Pillar or Mokona could summon someone," Umi protested.

"I'm the Pillar, remember?"

"But I thought you got rid of the Pillar System," Fuu protested.

"Yes, in the way that _I_ don't control everything, the people do. But I'm still Pillar in name," Hikaru explained.

The Knights looked at each other in dismay as the full extent of Clef's words sunk in. Summon another person? One who might not do any better than them and would not be able to leave until the enemy was defeated, when it was a distinct possibility that the enemy might never be defeated and the one summoned would die in a battle they had no true part in? But what was their other choice? To lose? They couldn't win this on their own. Without ever saying a word, they reached their decision. Hikaru took a deep breath and answered for them all, her hair and braid whipping around her in the sudden wind.

"We'll do it. We'll summon another person. We don't have another choice. The three of us won't leave until this enemy is defeated so we need a person who knows this enemy and has fought against them to help us. Otherwise, we'll all be killed and this country will fall." Umi and Fuu nodded to show they agreed.

Clef sighed as his white robes whipped around his child form. "All right. We will summon another person. Come with me to the Throne Room. Magic that reaches to places seems to work best from there. You three will need to use each other's power to do this." He began to walk off. They all followed.

Gardina, Lafarga, and Presea were waiting for them. Clef told Ferio he had to sit in his chair and _watch_. Nothing more. He couldn't do anything. Ascot he had Lafarga restrain to keep the grown-up boy from doing anything to interfere. Clef had the three Knights hold hands and form a circle in the center of the dais. As the three touched hands their power washed over them all, but harming none.

"Now make your wish and summon someone," Clef instructed. The three girls closed their eyes and focused on what they wanted. As Hikaru had made her wish for this country with their help, the other two could help her when she needed to summon someone.

"We wish for," Hikaru spoke slowly, "someone to help us defeat this opponent. Someone with the ability and skill to do so. That is our wish." Light of intermingled red, blue, and green flashed around them, nearly blinding those watching. They didn't notice Clef or the others cry out in shock for they were focused so strongly on their wish and bringing someone here.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

A huge light flashed outside Tokyo Tower and everyone turned toward it. (Sound familiar?) One girl could see three figures in the globe of light, asking her for help. Asking her to fight again. She went cold, knowing what was about to happen. She _hated_ it when this happened to her. She didn't scream or cry out as the ground turned to liquid beneath her. _Screaming would be a waste of energy,_ she thought as she was pulled under._ It's not like they can hear me anyways._ She held her breath until the water released her and she was falling. Falling toward a floating castle above a sea and green land. _So peaceful,_ she thought regretfully. _Have I been summoned to destroy this peace and the Pillar who created it?_ She adjusted her body so the wind wasn't hitting her eyes dead on. She wanted to be able to see, not have her eyes forced closed by the tearing wind she was creating as she fell. The blonde felt amazingly calm and detached.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Back in the castle, the girls opened their eyes and looked toward Clef, letting go of each others hands and standing next to each other, destroying their circle.

"I'm pretty sure it worked," Hikaru told him as Lafarga released Ascot.

"It did," Umi and Fuu assured him. Clef nodded and the jewel on his staff glowed and a picture was formed in the air in front of him, much like when he had shown the Magic Knights of Cephiro and the countries surrounding it when Mokona had summoned them. This picture showed a teenage girl falling. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and had a backpack on her back. Clef hadn't zoomed in too much, so she was fairly small and Formerly Cephiro was far beneath her.

"This is the girl you summoned," he told them. They leaned in for a closer look and they heard Hikaru make a strange noise and straightened up. Everyone looked at her closely.

"What is it?" Umi asked, her concern for her shorter friend evident on her face. Hikaru was white, though Umi and Fuu knew quite well that when they'd made their wish their energy had been replenished.

Hikaru just stared at the picture of the girl.

"Why don't you summon Fyula to bring her here?" Fuu questioned. Clef shook his head.

"If she doesn't do anything in the next thirty seconds, I'll do that. But right now I want to see if she does anything. That's what I did for you the first time you were summoned," he told them. At that moment, a shrill whistle echoed in the hall. It continued to echo for a good minute. They all scrunched up their eyes and covered their ears in an effort to block out the sound. Apparently, Clef had added sound features to this vision of his.

"That was _loud_," Umi commented as she took her hands from her ears. Hers ears rang in the silence. The others agreed and took a look at the picture. The girl was no longer falling, but riding a monster similar to Ascot's favorite! It had four limbs, an eagle's head with a purple jewel on its forehead, was furry, and had wings. Hikaru made some sort of indecipherable sputter as the others showed surprise if not shock to see this girl summoning a monster to help her.

"Do you recognize this girl, Hikaru?" Clef asked her. Hikaru nodded, still not taking her eyes off the image of the girl.

"She's landed," Lafarga noted. Clef turned his attention back to the picture. The girl had indeed landed in the castle entrance. She was petting the monster as she looked around with more sadness and resignation than curiosity or fear. As the monster shimmered and vanished, she began to walk down the hall straight toward the Throne Room, keeping her eyes on the tiled floor. It was almost as though she knew her way around. They heard her footsteps echo softly as though she were right next to them. No one offered to go fetch her; they were all too busy staring at her image.

She looked a lot like Emeraude in some ways. Something about her quiet manner and golden hair. She reminded Clef and Presea of someone they had met when they were very young; someone they couldn't quite remember who'd had to go away.

"Why does she remind me of someone?" Presea wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Clef replied without taking his eyes from the teenager. "But I have the same feeling." The others except Hikaru looked at each other. They didn't recognize her or were strongly reminded of anyone. Hikaru just stared at the image. When the girl's image stopped at the closed door, the picture vanished.

"Hey! What happened?" Gardina cried out. The others voiced similar outbursts. At least they did until the doors to the Throne Room swung open and the girl walked in, heading straight for the Knights and Clef. She stopped about five feet from the dais and bowed formerly.

Hikaru found her voice as the girl straightened up. "You're that new girl from school, Samantha," she choked out. "What are you doing here?" The girl shrugged, not seeming at all surprised that she had just been dragged into another world and now stood in front of a classmate. Everyone else stared in shock, their eyes going back and forth between the two as Samantha took off her backpack and set it on the floor beside her.

**AN:** Cliffy! I think. Next chapter comes soon! Promise!


	3. The Past and the Present

**AN:** Chapter 3 up! Rated for violence and cursing. Here's what you wanted. What happens after the new girl is summoned to Cephiro. Thoughts and emphasized words/notes are italicized.

**Disclaimer:** Would there be a disclaimer if I owned Rayearth? No. Samantha and Pegasus and the past Knights are all I own.

**The Past and the Present**

Hikaru found her voice. "You're that new girl from school, Samantha," she choked out. "What are you doing here?" The girl shrugged, not seeming at all surprised that she had just been dragged into another world and now stood in front of a classmate. Everyone else stared in shock, their eyes going back and forth between the two as Samantha took off her backpack and set it on the floor beside her. She rummaged through it for a moment as everyone tensed, not sure what to expect. Hikaru drew a sigh of relief as Samantha drew out a pad of paper and a pencil.

"What's she doin'?" Gardina asked.

"She doesn't talk much, only when she has no other choice," Hikaru explained. "Something happened when she was little. Well, at least I know why she reminded me so strongly of this place," she muttered under her breath. The first part greatly peaked Umi's interest.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Fuu slammed an elbow into the taller girl's ribs.

"That's rude," she whispered. "It's not something we need to know." Samantha wrote five words on the pad (guess what they are) and handed it to Umi, her expression unreadable but undeniably sad. Umi read over it and started yelling at Samantha as the girl took back the pad.

"What do you mean?! You've been summoned to help us, so something important that happened to you is our business! We need to know if you'll freeze up!" Samantha wrote something else on another sheet of the pad while ignoring Umi and handed it to Hikaru, who read it silently.

_Why was I summoned?_ it read._ Was I summoned to kill the Pillar or for some other reason?_Hikaru looked at the girl before her in surprise.

"You know the Legend of the Magic Knights?" she demanded.

Samantha nodded, "I've had to fulfill it before, Pillar," she informed Hikaru. Her voice was soft, showing that she didn't use it much, and was low enough to be a boy's or a girl's.

"Well, you haven't been summoned to kill me," Hikaru told her. Samantha's relief was evident on her face.

"How do you know of the Legend?" Clef asked. Before the girl had a chance to answer, the castle shook under an attack of artillery. The floor shook violently beneath them. "Answer that later," he told her quickly. As abruptly as the barrage started, it stopped. Everyone but Samantha fell over, having just adjusted to the floor's movement. Samantha stayed standing and gazed out the window, a calculating look upon her face as she watched the ugly ships attack the castle and then speed off into space. She seemed confused as she watched the retreat.

"They are why you've been summoned," Ferio told her. She whirled around to face him as her braid whipped around her, her surprised face quickly melting into the emotionless mask Hikaru saw at school. "We need help to destroy them, or at least get them to leave us alone. We can't do it alone." Samantha nodded, her face slightly green. Presea noticed this.

"Hikaru, Umi, Fuu," she asked. "Could you show her to her room? We have one made up on the right of yours that she can use. She looks a little sick and that comment of the prince's probably didn't help her stomach much." They nodded and gestured toward Samantha.

"Come on," Fuu said. "We'll show you where your room is while you're here." Samantha nodded and silently followed them, her tennis shoes making only the slightest noise on the floor. They went down the twisting halls until they came to the room to the right of the other girls' room.

"This one is yours," Umi told her as Samantha pushed the door open. Inside was a room which looked almost exactly like the Magic Knights' room with only three large differences.

The first was the color scheme. Instead of red, blue, and green, the colors were, green, pale yellow or gold, and faint brown. The second was the beds. Instead of one big bed for three, there were two twin-sized beds with a nightstand between them with a lamp, much like a hotel room. The third was that it was easily the size of the Throne Room. Samantha walked in and set her bag on the far bed. The other girls from Earth stood uncertainly at the door.

"Okay," Umi announced as she looked around. "I'm jealous. You get the really, _really_ big room all to yourself."

"Do you need anything?" Hikaru asked. The new blond shook her head.

"Okay, if that's so, we'll leave you alone," Fuu told Samantha and they closed the door and left. They went back to the kitchen to finish preparing that picnic that had been interrupted. They forgot all about their new guest until the 'picnic' was finished and happened to be a full-fledged feast all laid out on a table.

As they sat down to eat, Presea asked where Samantha was. The three traded shocked looks. They'd forgotten about her.

"I'll go get her," Hikaru said as she jumped up. "Start without us." As she trotted down the hall, she went over the day's events in her mind. She and her friends came to Formerly Cephiro, found a fight, got involved again, lost a battle horribly, summoned another poor girl, and then forgot all about her. How embarrassing, almost as though she were some sort of weapon, to be used and forgotten when not in use. They had no right to treat anyone that way.

When she reached Samantha's door, she heard crying from inside.

"Samantha?" she called as she knocked on the door. Quiet sobs were her only answer.

"Are you okay?" No answer. Hikaru opened the door and looked in. Samantha was sitting in the window seat, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms around them, with her long braid undone and her hair flowing around her, brushing the floor. She had taken her shoes off and Hikaru saw them on the floor next to the girl. Tears streamed down Samantha's face as she stared out the window, the side of her head against the warm window. Samantha seemed oblivious to Hikaru's presence, at least until Hikaru put her hand on Samantha's arm. Samantha's head shot up and when she recognized Hikaru, the shocked and scared look was replaced by a deep blush. Hikaru smiled gently at the girl and sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked again. Samantha looked away, her blush slowly fading.

"You're not, are you?" Samantha slowly shook her head as she forced herself to not cry any more.

"What happened to make you so sad?" Samantha hesitated a moment and then went over to her bag where she pulled out the same pad and pen. She sat back down again on the window seat and began to write and gave the pad to Hikaru when she finished. Hikaru read over it. It said, _My brother and two best friends died._

"Oh," Hikaru uttered softly as she placed the pad down. "I'm sorry." Samantha's face and eyes hardened at the last words. She seemed on the verge of snapping a retort aloud.

"Is that the event that stopped you from talking much?" Hikaru asked. For some reason, she felt it was connected to the young woman's crying now, even though the she had stopped talking six years prior. Slowly, as though she didn't want to think about it, Samantha nodded.

"Do you want to come eat? We're having a picnic," Hikaru offered, remembering her original intent. Samantha looked at her in surprise, her reply written all over her face. _You want _me The girl's shock was understandable; she was a loner at school because no one would stay around her long.

"Yes, we do," Hikaru told her firmly. Samantha was obviously wondering why but agreed and pulled her shoes on. Then she went to the bathroom connected to her room and splashed water on her face to get rid of the worst of the tear stains. She came back looking much better. Hikaru smiled as she wondered if the girl's eyes were perpetually mournful and helped the girl put her hair back into a braid. Hikaru told her all about the others, their looks, personalities, etc., etc., while she helped Samantha. When they looked in the mirror at the end result, Samantha was more than slightly surprised. The young woman in the mirror was beautiful. Then they went to the party, and, amid questions and demands of what took them so _long_, got dinner.

"You know," Presea commented since the two girls sat next to her, "we were about to go send a search party looking for you two." Hikaru choked on her chicken and Samantha ducked her head to hide the smallest of smiles. Suddenly, Clef walked down to them and placed his hand on Samantha's forehead, as though checking to see if she was sick. Her eyes widened slightly for a moment, but aside from that she ignored him. The jewel on Clef's staff sparkled slightly.

_Can you hear me?_ Clef asked the girl silently. He was communicating with her as he had with Hikaru to teach her her magic. (See book 1) The girl's thoughts answered him.

_What do you want, Guru?_ Clef hid his astonishment and replied silently.

_I want to know how you seem so at peace in this world. You are not in the least surprised by the fact you were summoned or the ships attacking us. You know the Legend of the Magic Knights and appear to know your way around this castle. You summoned an animal to help you. How?_

_Would you believe me if I said I've been here before?_

_No,_ Clef said shortly.

_Who was the Pillar of Cephiro before Hikaru Shido? _she responded. This time Clef was not able to hide his astonishment.

"How do you know about her?" he sputtered aloud, leaving his hand upon her forehead. She calmly continued to eat as they gained a few stares.

_Just answer the question._

_Princess Emeraude,_ he replied. His sense of her became sadness.

_Why her?_ she wondered.

_She had the strongest–_

_I know all that. Otherwise she could not have become Pillar. Why did she summon Magic Knights?_

_She fell in love,_ Clef explained.

_Oh._ That was it. He took his hand from her forehead, ending the connection and stared at the back of her head for a few moments before returning to his seat a few places down, trying to digest what little he'd learned.

Samantha was doing the same thing. Emeraude in love? That little infant she'd held in her arms all grown up and in love? Summoning three people to kill her? Why? She loved life and Cephiro, that had been evident even with her young age. Why would she destroy what she adored most? She would know that the man she loved would die protecting her. If he didn't love her, she would've still been able to keep the world's safety highest in her mind. Who did she fall in love with?

To take her mind off the depressing topic, she looked around at people's clothes. They were a bit different from her last visit, but the green-haired young man with one earring she remembered was the prince. His manner and looks vaguely reminded her of Emeraude. The princess must have loved her brother and believed in him, and so could give the country all of herself. The girl with short blond hair with a green ribbon in her hair who sat next to him—Fuu, Samantha reminded herself—wore green all over and a golden ring on her right hand. She sat next to the prince and blushed slightly whenever her touched her. His fingers would brush her when he passed her something and she would blush ever so slightly. It didn't happen often, and that made it all the more entertaining for Samantha. She unconsciously smiled slightly to herself at the picture they presented. It was really sweet and kinda cute. Since neither one was Pillar, they could be in love and the world wouldn't crumble around them. Next her gaze traveled to the blue-haired girl. She seemed elegant and Samantha realized she'd have to ask Hikaru the taller girl's name. She thought she should know it, but couldn't remember it. She was talking avidly with the man next to her. He towered over her easily and stammered occasionally when he spoke to her. _He's in love, _Samantha realized,_ and she doesn't realize it._ Then she shook her head and concentrated on her food rather than the people around her, fighting back tears._ I've got to stop thinking like this. I'm probably just seeing romance in the air since I'm so lonely._

Gardina was sitting across from Samantha and next to Lafarga and noticed the shake of the girl's head and saw the sadness return full force to the her's eyes. The sadness had receded a bit as Samantha watched the others. When she looked at the other girls and smiled for the first time any of them had seen, she had looked more than exquisite. When she concentrated on her food again she looked like she was about to break out crying. The poor girl was obviously miserable and Gardina decided she would do something about it.

"Say, girlfriend," she said, causing Samantha to look up in surprise. Gardina's heart went out to the young woman, she had no friends. "After we're done here, you, like, want me to show you around? I know everything about this place. I'll show you all the good spots." Samantha didn't mention that she already knew the place by heart, and nodded. Gardina grinned. "It's a date," the Illusionist proclaimed. Samantha nodded and went back to her food.

After they finished, Gardina took Samantha on what she called "the grand tour." Gardina always told Samantha if there were weak spots in the floor since there were always a few rotten floorboards that no one ever seemed able to fix. After a little while, she stopped because she noticed Samantha was dodging them without breaking stride or paying any attention to her feet or the floor itself. Gardina told Samantha all about every room they passed. She stopped that too after some time and only gave the most interesting stuff or gossip since Samantha seemed more interested in looking around than finding out a lot about the rooms themselves. When they reached the gardens, Samantha stopped dead. Gardina looked at her curiously from a few steps into the garden. The girl's face was pale.

"Did you, like, eat something bad?" she inquired. Samantha shook her head and swayed. Gardina caught her as she collapsed and trembled badly in Gardina's hold. Faintly, Gardina realized Samantha was whispering something.

"Please. I can't go in there. I just see them again. Please don't make me go in. I can't stand it. I can't stand seeing it again," she was whispering fearfully into Gardina's shoulder. Gardina felt something warm and wet on her skin and realized that Samantha was crying.

"Say, I thought you couldn't talk," Gardina commented in an effort to get Samantha to stop crying as she rubbed the girl's back soothingly.

"When something really scares me or if I'm here I do, but not otherwise," Samantha told her softly.

"Why don't you talk the rest of the time?"

"It's too hard. I don't want to get close to people because I don't want them to get hurt."

"Why would they be hurt?"

"My brother and my two best friends died to protect me. If I let anyone close to me, I'm afraid I'll lose them like I lost Sam and the others."

"How did they die?" Then Gardina realized the pain her question might cause and apologized. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Gardina felt Samantha's body tremble slightly as she gave a chuckle.

"We were–" Suddenly, a male voice interrupted.

"Is she all right? Did something happen?" Gardina felt a pang of annoyance. Normally she didn't mind Lafarga's presence, but right now she wanted him GONE.

"She's fine. She just collapsed. I'm going to take her to her room," Gardina told the one she loved sharply. She helped Samantha stand, with Gardina supporting most of her weight. Slowly they made their way to Samantha's room. Gardina let Samantha lead since she was the one who might not be able to keep up. To Gardina's amazement, the path Samantha took stayed far away from people and had many shortcuts. In under five minutes, they were at Samantha's door, despite their slow pace and the gardens being on the other side of the castle.

"Wow. That is so totally cool. You'll have to teach me some of those shortcuts. They'd be real handy." Samantha smiled weakly and nodded.

"Can you get in on your own?" Gardina asked, concerned. She'd been supporting Samantha's weight the entire time, though a few times Samantha had been able to take on a little of her own weight. It never lasted long. Slowly, the girl shook her head.

"So I'll so totally help you," Gardina told her. Samantha just opened the door and Gardina helped her to the far bed. Samantha sat down on it and Gardina reluctantly let go.

"You _sure_ you're okay now? You don't want me to go get anyone?" Samantha just smiled so Gardina frowned dubiously and left, closing the door softly behind her. She went straight to Presea and told the Farl everything. Presea's first concern once Gardina said that Samantha claimed to be fine, was that Samantha said she spoke when in Cephiro, or now, Formerly Cephiro. Had she been here before, Presea wondered.

"I'm not sure," Gardina confessed. So they went to check on Samantha. Apparently Samantha had found the nightgown set aside in the drawer of the nightstand. She was wearing it and had her clothes stashed in her bag next to the bed, and she herself was under the covers. Samantha was asleep or at least unconscious didn't look very healthy. When Presea put her hand to the young teen's forehead, she quickly pulled it away.

"We need a doctor," was the first thing out of her mouth. "She's burning up and her pulse is too fast. If she somehow injured herself and lost blood, Fuu could replace the blood, but she doesn't look hurt and I don't see blood anywhere. Let's tell Clef." Gardina nodded worryingly and they found the old sorcerer in his study. They told him the story and he asked some questions. Presea noticed that Gardina omitted the small fact that the girl had spoken.

"Why did she collapse?"

"I'm not sure. She seemed, like, fine until I started to go into the gardens," Gardina told him.

"Why were you showing her the gardens?"

"I was giving her the grand tour," she said defensively.

"You don't need to get upset. I was just wondering. Did she go into the gardens?"

"No. She stopped in her tracks when I went in and when I looked back she seemed a little off-color and I asked if she'd eaten something bad. She just shook her head and collapsed. I helped her back to her room and went to find Presea. We went to her room and found her asleep and burning up. So we came to find you."

"I can go see her and try to fix some potions that might help. You're sure it wasn't the food," he asked. Gardina nodded firmly. Clef sighed. "Go tell Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. They might be able to do something. Fuu is very good at fixing potions and Hikaru may be able to help our new guest. They seem to know each other a bit." Gardina and Presea nodded and went to find the girls. The girls were shocked that something could have happened so quickly and wanted to help. They all ran to the room, Gardina trying and failing to find any of the shortcuts she'd used before. They burst into the room and found Samantha alone. The girl's face was the color of pale peach chalk and they rushed to her. As Fuu placed her hand on the girl's forehead, Samantha moaned softly. Fuu looked down into the girl's face and took her hand away. She shook her head.

"All I can do is make some potions. I'm sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," Umi told her. "All I can do is help you." They looked at Hikaru who sat next to the girl holding her hand like she sometimes did Eagle's. Her eyes searched the girl's face, looking for something. When Hikaru couldn't find it, she let go of Samantha's hand and slammed her fist into the mattress.

"Dammit! Damn, damn, damn," she hissed. Everyone was surprised. Hikaru had never gotten mad like before.

"What is it?" Presea inquired.

"I can't _do_ anything! I tried, and I could tell that I was starting to help her, then I got kicked out. I _hate_ being helpless like this," Hikaru cried as a tear or two slid out the corners of her eyes and she stared at the sick girl. Umi put a hand on her shorter friend's shoulder.

"I hate it too. Remember why Clef taught me my magic? I didn't want you to fight alone and I didn't want to be helpless," she reminded the redhead as Clef walked in and went to the window to check the weather. Hikaru blushed.

"Sorry," she muttered. "It's just that usually I can do _something_. I'm normally not _entirely_ helpless." Fuu nodded and came over to sit on the other side of the sick girl, across from Hikaru.

"I know the feeling. To see someone suffering and not be able do anything… I hate it," Fuu told them as she gazed upon the pale face. "We'd better get started on those potions," she said matter-of-factly as she got up. The other two agreed and began to start toward the door when something undefinable stopped them. Voices in their heads, familiar ones. The words they could not make out, but the emotion was clear. The voices' owners were coming home and were glad to be returning.

"Clef, Presea, Gardina," Umi asked hesitantly. "Is anyone supposed to be coming here soon? Someone who left some time ago?" The three questions traded confused looks.

"No," Clef replied slowly. "Do you have people in mind?" The girls shook their heads.

"No," Fuu confirmed. "We do not. We merely felt voices in our minds and a feeling of their owners returning here." As though to accentuate Fuu's comment, five lights blazed in the center of the room. The room was, thankfully, quite large and no one was standing there at the time. Four of the lights formed a square around the center light, the smallest one.

The center one was pale yellow with a white center.

None of the outer lights were the same size and the one closest to Clef was light green, as bright as a miniature sun and was about the same size as the blue one.

The one closest to the three girls and the entrance was of the same brightness and bright red. It was only a bit bigger than the girls.

Toward the empty corner was one of the same intensity of light and blue in color. It was towered over the others.

The one by Samantha, Presea, and Gardina was pale brown, of the same intensity of light as the others, and the smallest of the outer lights, being only as tall as Hikaru. There were figures wrapped in the light, but they did not appear human. The center one was in the shape of a ball and the ones around it seemed to be some sorts of animal. As the intense light faded and the figures began to come into clear vision, everyone noticed the symbol of Cephiro shining brightly the same color as the center light on the ground.

Hikaru peered closely at the creature in red light. _That color,_ she thought. _There's no way… But how can it be anyone else?_

Umi peered at the blue creature. _This is not happening,_ she thought without any dread or other emotion except surprise. _There is no way in the name of magic it could be him…_

Fuu squinted at the creature bathed and surrounded by green light. _That shade of green, _she thought. _I have got to be in a dream. I wish this were real, but there's no way possible. It can't be who I think it is. It can't._

Clef and the others merely shielded their eyes. For them, the light was too strong to look at. For the girls from Earth that were conscious, it was merely bright. The brightness slowly faded from the figure in the middle and the others much more slowly. Everyone looked where the center ball of light had been and saw wings curled around the figure's body. It couldn't have been very large, the ball with the wings around it was not much larger than an official basketball. Its wings slowly unfurled as the brightness faded from the other figures floating above the sign of Cephiro. The girls from another world gasped as they recognized the unclear figures, ones they deeply cared for who had vanished so suddenly the year before. The first one to show itself at a level of brightness that the humans could clearly see the brownish figure they didn't recognize. It was shaped like a unicorn: a horse with a horn, no wings. It trotted a few inches above the ground over to Samantha.

_Awaken, Knight of Earth, _a deep voice said as the unicorn brushed Samantha's chest with its horn and nuzzled her with its nose. The voice spoke the same way the Mashin and Mokona when he revealed himself as the creator had spoken. It resonated deep within all who could hear it. That consisted of the everyone from Earth and Clef who heard only the echo of the voice but not the words. He looked at the young women by the door.

"What's going on?" he asked. They were each goggling at a different figure in light: Hikaru at the red one, Umi the blue one, and Fuu the green. They could apparently stand the brighter light for some reason.

"There is no way…" Hikaru started.

"We've got to be dreaming…" Umi added.

"They look like the Mashin…" Fuu finished. Clef looked from the girls to the figures.

"Who's the thing in the center?" he asked. Hikaru broke her gaze from the creature in red and looked toward the basketball-sized blob.

"Mokona?!" she shrieked. Everyone winced from the volume level, the creatures in light included. The blob was indeed Mokona. The wings vanished and he hopped into Hikaru's arms with a cry of, "Puu! Pu!" She hugged tightly him and returned to staring at the red creature. The figures cleared so everyone could clearly see them and, although Presea, Clef, and Gardina didn't recognize the figures, the Knights obviously had had their suspicions confirmed. Mokona jumped from Hikaru's arms to hop around Presea as Hikaru dashed toward the red figure and flung her arms around its neck. The red figure looked like a large dog made of fire with a spike upon its head. It was slightly taller than Hikaru. Umi dashed toward the blue figure who looked like a large blue dragon. She wrapped her arms as far as they would go around the dragon's neck because it had lowered its head and neck so it could nuzzle Umi's ear. The green figure in the empty corner of the room was hit by Fuu who wrapped her arms as far as they would go around the creature's body. Considering the creature was a giant, green, four-winged bird with a gold jewel on its forehead, her arms didn't go very far.

Unnoticed by the girls in their joy and by the adults in their shock, due to the unicorn's constant nuzzling, Samantha was slowly opening her eyes and trying to speak. No sound came out of her mouth, so she had no attention called to her. As soon as her eyes were fully open, the Mashin (If you didn't realize that's what the red, green, and blue creatures were, you're denser that solid granite.) started an argument with an unknown party. The unfamiliar deep voice they'd heard before started the conversation.

_Magic Knight,_ it chastised as the unicorn blew through its nostrils at Samantha, _you know better than to waste your power so frivolously upon a summoning to another universe. The last thing these girls need is for you to destroy yourself before you can teach them what they need to know._ A new voice broke in. If Gardina could've heard it, she would've recognized it immediately.

_I didn't do it on purpose! And I'm fine! Stop nuzzling me!_

Rayearth broke in on the protests.

_Perhaps not. But you still put yourself in grave danger and nearly led the enemy to yourself and the Magic Knights._

The young protester broke in again.

_Them!? Those three?! Magic Knights!? Did you drop the tests so anyone with magic could pass them?_ she—the girls from Earth were sure it was female—demanded. _Because that what it looks like to me! Right now there's no Pillar to kill cuz she's a Knight! So _why_ were they summoned? And _why_ were you four in another universe?_ Windam sighed and patiently began to explain.

_They _are_ Magic Knights. They _did_ destroy a Pillar and were summoned by the Creator a second time for one of them to take his test. Now they may come and go as they please. They summoned themselves._ Before he could explain further Samantha giggled. She was partially sitting up, braced on the pillow behind her and looked utterly exhausted but was laughing as the unicorn nuzzled her face.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she protested between laughs as she weakly attempted to push the nose away. "You know that, Pegasus, or you wouldn't have come here. You would have stabbed me. So quit it!" Presea and everyone else, including the Mashin smiled at her and Presea went over to Samantha to check the girl's temperature. The unicorn moved out of her way as she passed it. Relief was evident on the woman's face as she took her hand from Samantha's forehead and the girl slid back down beneath the covers.

"Your fever broke," she announced. "You'll be okay. You just need rest." Samantha's eyes were slowly drooping and she was back in the realm of slumber before she could hear Clef.

"I though you didn't speak," he said in a shocked tone. The Knights' relief that Samantha was okay had overshadowed their shock until Clef spoke. So Gardina and Presea began to explain as the Mashin and the unicorn had their own conversation. The three young women from another world didn't pay attention to either conversation until a familiar name popped into the Mashin's conversation.

_—must train them! No one else can. Samantha can teach them the skills needed to fight this enemy, we can't,_ Rayearth was saying.

_But why can't we?_ Selece demanded.

_Do you remember what happened to Kathy that first time?_ Windam shot back. _Only another Knight can teach them the necessary skills without causing them harm. Our partners were not completely ready when we thought they were and we ended up nearly killing them on accident. Sammy was there. She knows how strong they must be, how to teach them the shielding and to bond._

_Um, excuse me,_ Fuu interrupted timidly. _But what does Samantha have to do with this?_

_She is a Magic Knight,_ replied the new voice. _And was before you three ever came._

_That was Pegasus,_ Selece explained. _He is the Mashin of Earth and likes to be a bit more blunt than the rest of us._ This sent the girls into a shocked silence.

**AN:** Oh, aren't I just evil? Samantha a Magic Knight? (Well, duh. You read the summary.) A new Mashin? I love cliffhangers! Next chapter coming soon! Not one of my best chapters… ; Press that little button down there and review please!


	4. Lectures

**AN:** Here's next bit. Story rated for language and violence. This is based on the Manga. Italics either mean Mashin speaking, mind speaking, thoughts, notes, or empathized words. Um… I love the Mashin as much as you do, but… well, I'm gonna have them be a bit mean to Samantha in this chapter. It will be explained.

**Review Replies!**

**DayDreamer9:** Thanks for the review! Peagsus and the others are going to explain… bit by bit… eventually. Hee, hee, I just love dragging out the suspense.

**Disclaimer:** Rayearth was created by Japanese people and I'm as Japanese as apple pie. I own only Samantha and Pegasus, the Pillar before Emeraude aka Matilda, and the past Knights.

**Excerpt from last chapter:**

_Um, excuse me,_ Fuu interrupted timidly. _But what does Samantha have to do with this?_

_She is a Magic Knight,_ replied the new voice. _And was before you three ever came._

_That was Pegasus,_ Selece explained. _H e is the Mashin of Earth and likes to be a bit more blunt than the rest of us._ This sent the girls into a shocked silence.

**End excerpt**

**Lectures**

_What do you mean, Selece?_ Umi asked. _There's a Mas hin of Earth? Do you mean the planet, or the element; soil and dirt?_

_There are Mashin of Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth,_ Rayearth explained. _The four elements. There are no Mashin of planets._

_Speaking of Earth,_ Pegasus a dded. _Magic Knight, we need to talk._ Everyone who could hear the conversation (Rayearth, Selece, Windom, Pegasus, Mokona, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu) could clearly hear someone groan. Then blazing light surrounded them and Presea, Clef, and Gardina cried out in shock as eight living creatures vanished. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu along with the creatures they were hugging vanished in a flash of light. (Remember, Clef and Presea haven't seen the animal forms of the Mashin. They were in the castle when Mokona too k the Mashin away and those in the castle were too far away to see clearly. Ascot may have seen Selece in the Water Shrine or Gardina might've seen Windom in the Shrine of the Wind, but that's it. So they're virtually clueless as to who or what the 'creatures' are.) Samantha and the unicorn who had returned to nuzzling her from the girl's bed also vanished. None of those vanishing cried out, but those watching did. The humans cried out in shock and Mokona said, "Puu!" which sounded like a good luck wish. Gardina and Presea began to chase him, trying to catch him so they could punish him or get an explanation. (They couldn't care less that he's the Creator; old habits die hard.) Clef just stared into space until they knocked him over, at which he left to r eturn to his study. The females continued to harass the creator down the halls.

Meanwhile, the three Magic Knights found themselves floating in a huge fog. They all grabbed hands for comfort. They heard a deep voice booming, but couldn't make out th e words. They felt that was the intent. They were surrounded by a globe of light. Slowly the fog cleared and they found figures standing (or floating) around them in a circle. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu each laid eyes on a familiar face.

"Rayearth!" Hikar u cried, but didn't let go of her friends' hands.

"Selece!" Umi shouted, with the same reaction.

"Windom!"

With her friends' grips on her hands, Fuu couldn't possibly get lose from her friends even if she'd wanted to. Suddenly, the young women looked down and discovered they were wearing the armor they wore while inside the Mashin, without their swords. That was what was producing the light.

"What's going on?" one of them voiced. None of them knew for sure which said it aloud; they were all thinking it. Then the fog cleared so they could see two more figures. The unicorn, Pegasus, was speaking and Samantha was in front of him, head bowed, hands clasped behind her, the exact look of a child expecting a lecture.

What really sho cked the Knights was Samantha's clothing. Flowing robes, of not just pale brown, but also with a mixture of green, red and blue along the edges. She wore knee-length boots of pale brown, almost tan. The symbol of Cephiro inscribed on the top. She wore a short dark brown skirt and a pale and ripped skirt, a mixture of the four colors over it. It had tears almost up to her hips on either side of each of her legs so she could move easily. The top was skin tight and large shoulder pads with amber jewels were the straps for the top. Part of her belly was exposed when the shirt was flapped in the wind. A burnished-gold metal sun was over her heart, the same color as the shoulder pads. A ripped and torn cape still flowed from her shoulders, attached to the shoul der pads, mostly hidden by her flowing gold hair which framed her serious and slightly sad face. (For a good description of the armor, look in Rayearth 2 of 6 when Ferio is explaining the Legend of the Magic Knights and the page behind him is mostly black where white should be. You see three faceless girls in weird-looking armor. It's that style. Or check the cover of the first three Manga-style Rayearth books. Or go to and look under Rayearth. Find the girls in their Magic Knight robes and change the co lors and slightly the design. There's the basic pic. It isn't linked here. Go there on your own. The pics are great!) In her hand was a naked broadsword. The girls goggled at it. Slowly, the words Pegasus was speaking began to sink in.

_You are th e one who must train them. We cannot. If we attempted to do so, they would be killed and this country without Knights,_ Pegasus was lecturing._ You must teach them the skills and bonding that you and the other three obtained. We can teach them to bon d with us, but not with each other. Not on the level they need to survive._

_Your behavior back in the castle was despicable. You shame the former Magic Knights. I would expect this sort of behavior from a lowborn, spoiled brat, not a Knight t rained in a time where everything held a heavy price. Your self-control from that time seems to have evaporated. I hope not all our teachings have vanished so quickly from your head. Do you have anything to say for yourself?_ he demanded icily.

Yes, Samantha answered softly. None of the Knights were expecting what came next. Anger blazed in the young woman's eyes and her head shot up so she was facing her partner.

Her arms stiff at her sides, she explained what she had to say for herself. _Did you _ever_ even _try_ to see it my way? My best friends die to protect me, to save my life! I never want to return here because I'll have finally accepted their reasons for dying and this world will bring my questions back up again! I'll question and nearly drive myself insane over that time over and over again in my head. No matter how many times this world is remade, the special places remain the same. I get dragged here and am suddenly told that these three children are new Knigh ts. I'm told to forget my friends and what they did and let these kids take their places!? I can't do that! I can't accept them as Knights because in my heart the Magic Knights of Fire, Water, and Wind are Marie, Kathy, and Sam! Unless someone erases my m emories, they are the Knights. Are you _trying_ to torture me?! Because that's what you're doing! I can't train them! I don't care how much you want me to, I _can't The other young women stared in shock across the fog at the tears and rage evident on Samantha's face.

_Be silent,_ Windom ordered her. She opened her mouth to say something back and Selece kept her silent by slamming her in the stomach with his tail. She went flying off into the dark shadows. The other three Knights were shocked.

"What was that for?!" they demanded.

_She forgot her place,_ Rayearth explained. _The only one aside from Sam who could make her silence herself was occasionally Pegasus. When she gets truly upset, Sam was lucky to make her calm down. But now is not the time to blow off steam._

"So why are we here, in the dimension where you sleep?" Hikaru questioned. "And who is this 'Sam'? This 'Sam' can't be Samantha."

_You need training if you are to face this enemy and chanc e survival,_ Pegasus told them. _At your current level, you would not last two minutes in a true battle. Samantha is the only one who can teach you and you not risk permanent physical damage and will conduct your training. Samuel is one of the former Knights._

"Why do we need training?" Umi demanded. "Hikaru and I are great with swords and Fuu's much better than she used to be. Our magic has only gotten stronger! What more do we need to learn?"

_To hold your tongue, for one thing,_ Pegasus lazily told her. Then he turned to Selece. _Is she always like this?_ Selece shifted uncomfortably.

_No, Lord Pegasus. Only when she does not understand something or is truly worried. You have to admit, if you were in her place and knew so little, you might act the same._

_True,_ Pegasus conceded. _Now, we can teach you the basics of what Samantha shall train you in. We can teach you to bond with your Mashin partner, and no more. Samantha shall teach you to bond to e ach other._

_Is teaching them to bond with each other truly wise?_ Windom asked._ The bonding is part of what caused the last Knights' fall._

_And what kept us alive through most of the battles,_ Samantha shot back out of the darkness._ Without it, we would have fallen long before making it to Matilda._

_I thought we sent you back to the castle,_ Rayearth commented in an offhand tone.

_You did,_ Samantha told him. _But I'm back now. The Guru and t he Pharle won't get off my back about their precious friends. Could you get them back soon? I can't evade people forever, you know._

_As you wish,_ Pegasus agreed. _We shall send them back shortly._

_Good,_ she replied. _Oh, and Pegasus…_

_Yes?_ he asked calmly. _What is it?_

_Are Clef and Presea related to Rondo and Monica?_

_Yes. They are their descendants._

_So Clef is Rondo's son and Presea is Monica's daughter?_

_Correct._

_Oh. That explains a lot of things. See ya later._ With that, Samantha left them entirely. Soon the Mashin began to teach the Knights to bond themselves with their partners, so the two could fight better together and so it woul d be easier for the Knights to ride in the Mashin. After what felt like hours of exhaustion, the Mashin returned their partners to Formerly Cephiro's castle.

The young women were dropped off in the room where they'd been taken from in a flash of light. Samantha wasn't in her bed. So they went looking for her for some answers. They had to go through enthusiastic hugs from Presea and Gardina and some relief from Clef that almost scared them before they could get an answer on where the girl might be. They finally found her on the roof of one of the towers (spires? Those pointy things on top of the castle,) sitting with her legs drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on them as she gazed out at Formerly Cephiro.

"What are you doing up here?" Umi demanded. "We had to ask the Mashin since we couldn't find you anywhere inside. Then we had to recruit one of Ascot's pets to get us up here. How'd you manage it?" The only sign Samantha gave that she'd even heard was a shrug of her shoulders.

"Do you think the sunset is pretty?" Hikaru asked. No answer.

"Do you want to come in?" Fuu asked. "It's getting dark." Samantha just shook her head. Hikaru sat down and looked in the same direction as Samantha. She noticed something, a dark spot aga inst the bright sunset. She pointed it out to the others. They agreed it was odd and they should probably check it out.

"Are you coming?" they asked of Samantha. She stood up and stretched. They took that as a yes.

"Then come on," Umi said.

"Wait a moment," Fuu told her. "How are we going to get there? We can't just leave without an explanation. Clef and the others will worry and we can't use the Mashin. They're too conspicuous." They had to admit she had a point. Then the three friends noticed Samantha's forehead and the ground beneath her sparkling faintly with multicolored light.

"What's going on?" Hikaru demanded as they were surrounded by white light and lifted off the ground. They couldn't see for a moment and then the light vanished. They were standing near a dark spot with a radius of about fifty meters. Everywhere outside that radius was bright and cheerful.

"Where are we?" Umi asked loudly. "Are we near that spot we saw from the castle?" Samantha clapped her hand over Umi's mouth and motioned for them to be silent. Samantha crouched and silently creeped through the underbrush toward the dark spot. Upon closer examination, they could tell it was a large group of dark ships and adult people. The people were strange. They looked like normal humans apart from the fact that they had scars everywhere and short spikes protruding from their joints. There was chattering coming from the people, but they suddenly went silent as Fuu took a step forward and stepped on a twig. I t broke with a loud snap. They felt a feeling of foreboding as all eyes but Samantha's turned toward them.

Before any of them could draw their swords, Samantha was in motion, weaponless but deadly, attacking the aliens. Many silently fell from blows to their throats. Others took a fatal blow and died a bloody and painful death. The other Knights stood still in shock and horror. As Samantha rolled away from a return blow and came up in a crouch, the rest of the opponents ran to their ships, leaving their companions behind.

Samantha let them go. As they closed the boarding ramps, the ground opened up and swallowed the ships so only the tips of the tops were above ground. Then she turned and began to walk toward Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. A few paces from them, her legs collapsed beneath her. They ran to her but didn't touch her.

"Are you okay?" Fuu asked. Samantha didn't look up, but nodded. She was on her hands and knees and had the blood of her opponents dripping from her body. She was pantin g and trembling slightly.

"I just used up too much energy," she rasped. "I got careless."

"Can you stand?" Hikaru asked. "If you need us to, we can carry you."

"Or I could heal you," Fuu offered generously. Samantha shook her head.

"As much as I'd like that, I've got to say no. I don't think you can heal exhaustion and the rest of my injuries are really minor. I can stand in a minute anyways. Do you want to go back to the castle?"

"Yes," Umi answered for them all. The same li ght surrounded them again and when it faded, they were in the Throne Room, Samantha sitting next to them on the polished floor, still covered in blood, head in hands. Noticing their looks, she clumsily got to her feet.

"I'm going to bed," she told t hem hoarsely and walked off. They shrugged and went to find their loved ones, Lantis, Ascot, and Ferio, before going to bed themselves. None of them noticed that the dripping blood never made it to the floor or the blood's effect on Samantha's skin. She n ow had enormous boils where the blood had touched her.

**AN:** Sorry for such a short one! Send me reviews so I know how much to give away in the next chapter! There's going to be many, many chapters, FYI. Yes, there were Knights before Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. Otherwise how could Emeraude have become Pillar? Mokona said she choose to _continue_ the cycle of sorrow, meaning there had to be a Pillar and, thus, Knights before the ones we know. The rules between the Mashin and Knights were very di fferent and the Mashin still treat Samantha according to the old rules.

> 


	5. Revelations

**Review Replies!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Thanks for reading!

**DayDreamer9:** The thing Samantha did with the aliens was a bit like martial arts. When she was a Knight, there creatures liked catching her and her friends unarmed. Mashin bonding is… uh, I can't tell you without giving away a lot. Trust me, it is very helpful and you'll learn about it soon. Our Knights have already been doing a low-level version for a while.

**Lomesir:** Yay! You read this! If you want an explanation on what you're reading, here it is. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are Magic Knights. They were summoned by Princess Emeraude to "save" Cephiro. They didn't find out until they made it to the Princess that that meant they must kill her, the Pillar. They did it, were returned home, and a year later were summoned again. Then, they had to find "The Road to the Pillar" and have someone take the test. Hikaru and Eagle were chosen by Mokona, the Creator, to take the test. Hikaru won, became the Pillar, and managed to get Eagle out of there alive. Then Mokona and the Mashin left that world and the Knights soon returned home. My story is set about a year later, and it brings in past Knights and Pillars, people who are mine and my own creation.

**Disclaimer:** What have I been saying every chapter? I do NOT own Rayearth. Samanatha, PMKs (Past Magic Knights), and PP (Past Pillar) are mine, along with Pegasus and the new enemy. That's it. Don't you DARE steal them. I will hunt you down alive.

**Revelations**

Samantha staggered to her room and headed straight for the shower in her room. She could feel the dripping blood raising boils on her arms and she _really_ wanted it washed off. The blood itself burned her skin at an intensity near acid but only left large boils.

Within minutes she was in the shower, scrubbing roughly to rid her body of the alien blood. _Really glad I didn't get any cuts,_ she thought numbly. Her legs felt wobbly and she was just barely holding onto consciousness.

If this stuff had entered her bloodstream, she would have died before she could count to three. That it was also a _very_ strong poison was one of the many properties of the blood of the species attacking Formerly Cephiro and well did Samantha know it. She'd had too many encounters with this species for a thousand lifetimes. And yet, here she was, facing them again. Here she was, putting others in danger, all for a stupid wish. This time she would not hesitate. She would not cause another person's death from her fear.

No longer did she fear this enemy, only what they would do to her if she was captured and was recognized. She would not die quickly, oh no. Too easy for a child who had taken so many lives. To be tortured and slowly slaughtered would be the most merciful, and that would be letting her off easy. Not the most pleasing mental image, especially when you're watching your own blood go down the drain.

She examined her body once rid of all the blood. Large yellow boils the size of quarters filled with pus covered her arms and part of her face and one leg. They also encased her feet since that was where all the blood circled around while waiting its turn to go down the drain. The rest of her was safe; the blood flowing down her skin had not had time to harm her. She grimaced as she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her body.

_These things hurt more than I remember,_ she noted as her face paled even more from the pain of the soft towel lightly laying against her skin._Sleeping is gonna be hard._ She quickly grabbed her nightgown from the pile near the door and pulled it on._ Maybe walking isn't a very good idea,_ she told herself as one of the larger boils on her feet popped, spraying the floor with white gunk. With a sigh bordering on a moan of pain, Samantha pulled out a fresh washcloth and gingerly began to clean her foot. Once that was done and it stopped draining pus and liquid, she cleaned up the floor and went to bed. Needless to say, she didn't get too much sleep.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu stayed up fairly late in bed, discussing the manner in which Samantha had destroyed their opponents before any of them had a true chance to react.

"She moved so fast," Fuu commented.

"Yeah, like she knew their patterns," Hikaru added softly.

"Maybe she knew they'd be there," Umi put in. "And that's why she reacted faster than the rest of us. Maybe she's not on our side at all. Maybe she works with them."

"NO!" Hikaru burst out. "I know she's not like that. We wanted someone to help us! I don't think she'd turn on us. Besides, I heard her…" Blushing, she stopped. To continue would just embarrass Samantha.

"You heard her what?" Umi demanded.

"I heard her crying," Hikaru mumbled, staring at the sheets beneath her, her facing matching her flaming hair.

"WHAT!" they demanded, barely soft enough to not be noticed.

"When I went to get her for the picnic, I heard crying from inside her room. She didn't answer when I knocked or called, so I went in. She was on the window seat, curled into a ball, crying. When I asked what was wrong, I found out that her brother and two friends had died. For some reason, I thought it might be connected to what stopped her talking six years ago. When I asked, she said yes. I think they might've died here. You saw her reaction when Ferio told her that she was supposed to fight those ships. She turned green. I don't think she'd go to their side." Slowly, Umi and Fuu nodded. If what Hikaru said was true, than their new 'partner' would have to be nuts or pretty desperate to go over. Deciding they'd talk to her about it in the morning, they went to sleep.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The next morning, Samantha was not to be seen at breakfast. When the Knights knocked on her door, she told them to come in. They found her sitting in the window seat, dressed in her jeans and t-shirt, her back to them. They got her to turn around and they saw what had happened to her. They all gasped and made noises of sympathy which just pissed off Samantha. When Fuu offered to heal her, the newest/oldest Knight (oldest cuz she's been a Knight longer, but new to our known Knights) reluctantly accepted. So Fuu healed her and the other two got the chance to see Fuu float a few inches off the ground and Samantha float limply a good foot off the ground with her eyes closed, with green magic swirling around them both. (Looks a bit like Umi does when Alcoine almost kills her and Fuu gets her magic. See book 2 of 6.) When they landed, Samantha was looking glumly at her clothes. She was wearing her Magic Knight robes again, but was missing the sword.

"Oh, joy," she muttered. "Now I get to die again." The others heard her and wanted to know what she meant.

"Sorry, was I thinking out loud? Since I'm talking again and used to just thinking, I can't always tell if my vocal cords have done anything. When I mean die, I mean relive what happened to me and the other Magic Knights last time I got dragged here. I basically was as good as dead myself when they gave me their strength and protected me. But the downside of this all was that I was forced to watch my friends take hits for me as they gave me their strength and magic while taking my weakness. We destroyed the enemy in the end, but they died too. They knew they wouldn't make it out alive, but they wanted me to. That's why I got their magic and not just strength.

"I was sent home alone. I saw their bodies shimmer for a moment beside mine on the street before they vanished," she whispered mournfully as they saw tears well up in her eyes. Angrily, she wiped them away. "Now you know why I don't want to talk. I just start on about them. When I wrote it down for the doctors because I couldn't physically talk then, they called it DID, something like that, or some sort of mental disorder caused by seeing three people my own age in a quiet town be shot before my eyes. They said whatever had happened was too horrible so my mind just made up something less painful for me instead." Her voice turned bitter with these words and she stared at the floor. "They don't realize that my brain can't do that."

"Why is that?" Fuu wondered. "Doesn't your memory suppress things to painful for you to deal with?"

"I was put under a spell saying that I would always see through spells and other things and always see the truth. Unfortunately, that means my brain is just that much more different from the average person's."

"Doesn't that suck sometimes?" Umi asked without thinking. Umi realized what she'd said when everyone turned to look at her. She blushed and tried to apologize, but Samantha was already answering, as though there was nothing wrong or impolite with her question.

"The only times it didn't were when kids back home would try trick me into going somewhere just so they could beat me up for being weird. I managed to get through with as few pains as possible."

"That must've been lucky," Hikaru commented. Samantha nodded, still half in her memories of the past after her first visit.

"It was at first, but then other kids started shunning me even more, so it kinda had a big downside too. After a good three months, I snapped. I hadn't been dealing that great with stress or anything else since I got back but I hadn't cracked. My parents just associated it with seeing my _twin_ and two other kids die in front of me and they sent me to a mental hospital."

"So… are you better?" Fuu asked cautiously. Samantha turned to look at the newest Knight of Wind.

"What do you think? Would you be?"

Everyone was silent for a minute, Samantha looking out the window again and wishing they'd just leave her alone; the other three Knights shocked into silence by the coldness and near hatred in Samantha's eyes when she'd spoken those last words.

"Just go away and leave me alone," Samantha told them with a sigh. "You really don't want to talk to me just now." She could feel long dormant emotions bubbling up from deep inside her: if the other girls hadn't left the room so quickly, she would've started throwing things at them and using language inappropriate for young ears and some of the older ones, too.

"I miss you guys," the Knight of Earth whispered to herself as she pulled her knees up her chest and wrapped her arms around them, laying her forehead on her knees. "Why'd you have to do that? You guys are the lucky ones.Why'd you have to hurt me like this? It would've been better if we'd all just been taken out instead. Dying the worst death I can imagine is better than this…"

Images of _her_ Magic Knights were appearing in her mind: Sam, her twin brother, with his teasing but constantly happy and sometimes hyper attitude; Marie, the serious one of the group, with dark hair to near her waist, was practical, and took her control over fire very seriously; and finally Kathy, who controlled water and was not above using a drop of her power to summon some melted ice from a nearby stream and dumping it on them as a wake-up call.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

As Samantha immersed herself in her misery and depression, the other Knights were in the throne room, busy questioning the Mashin. What they'd been taught so far could be summed up in one little sentence: they could call and talk to their own Mashin without having to be inside them. There was a feeling when they did this that the Mashin were hiding something from them. It felt like something big, but they couldn't manage to get it out.

_Rayearth,_ Hikaru called silently. _What aren't you telling us?_

_Whatever do you mean?_ Rayearth responded smoothly. _We aren't hiding anything._ Again, there was that strong feeling that he was lying. Umi and Fuu tried the same thing with their partners and ended up with the same result.

Apparently, Samantha had pulled far enough out of her depression to hear Fuu's attempt. At Windom's, _"We told you everything"_ speech, Samantha broke in.

_That's bull and you know it, WIndom,_ she snapped. The other Knights all heard her, though, and assumed it was from whatever Samantha had been taught that they hadn't. _If you're not hiding anything, then why are you acting like a little kid trying not to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar?_

_Um… er… that is…_ Windom seemed to be a bit scared of Samantha's temper.

_He means that we figured we would let you explain,_ Pegasus interjected smoothly.

_That's just great,_ the Knight of Earth snapped. _I'm the one stuck teaching, I'm the one who doesn't want to be here, and I'm the one who gets to explain what you four are dancing around. That's jsut great._ It was silent for a minute, then Samantha directed a question towards the newer Knights. _You can hear all this, can't you?_

After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to answer her, and the silence because they couldn't, Samantha broke in. _Just aim it at your Mashin partner,_ she said kindly. _Since they can't teach you to bond with each other, it's just stupid to try and answer me._

So the girls all told their partners that, yes, they could hear Samantha, and wanted answers and they wanted them yesterday.

_Geez,_ Samantha laughed. _None of you are American, are you? You sound just like them._

None of the other Knights knew how to answer this comment, even if they could. Samantha continued, _What they refuse to tell you is that what we managed to recieve was a level of bonding that we could talk to our parnters, or each other, in our minds so long as we were in the same world. It wouldn't work if I was in, say, Autozam and Rayearth was here. I could only talk to a Knight or Mashin in Autozam._

_Samantha,_ Pegasus called warningly. Samantha groaned and they all heard it.

_Do I _have_ to?_ she moaned. _I _really_ don't want to do this._

_DO IT,_ she was instantly ordered by all the Mashin.

_Fine, damnit,_ she muttered before returning her attention to the newer Knights. _I'll teach you guys. But only enough to survive,_ she warned as the three began to cheer. _This _isn't_ something I want to do._

She was ignored by the newer Knights as they cheered, jumping up and down, attracting the attention of their friends. Samantha groaned in response, and was, again, ignored by all.

**AN:** Sorry it took so long to update and that it's so short, but writer's block and broken computers are evil things. Along with little brothers… but that's beside the point. Anyway, hope you like this and I need you to have some common courtsey and REVIEW!


	6. Teachers and Students

**AN: **Whoa! Chapter six already! This feels weird! I open the document and it still feels weird to see "An Old Knight Ch. 6" staring back at me! Lil' Clef gets mad! He looks so cute when he loses his temper!

**Review Replies!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Yay! You're still reading and reviewing each chapter! Just warning you, QuickEdit has a tendency to mess up spaces and create them where they aren't needed, so there are probably a bunch of those problems in this chapter too. If you meant spelling or grammar problems, please point them out! I like constructive criticism.

**DayDreamer9:** Thanks for the review! Glad to have someone reviewing regularly! Yep, Samantha's gonna have a hard time. Especially since she dislikes cough_hates_cough the title of Magic Knight and Cephiro in general because of what it did to her. Aren't I evil for enjoying this?

**Lomesir:** Glad you like it! Yes, I understand your feelings about Math Lab. Glad you mentioned the story this time. You understand everything now?

**Disclaimer:** Magic Knight Rayearth was written by CLAMP, a group of four women. I'm one person, not four. Do I own MKR? Nope. Just Pegasus, PMKs (Past Magic Knights), Matilda, the new enemy, Monica, Rondo, Chloe and the rest of the sprites, and Samantha.

**Chapter Six**

**Teachers and students**

Smack!

Clash!

Crash!

Thud!

"Ooow."

"Get up."

This was the routine with which the palace soon became familiar hearing. It was repeated many times through the day, along with curses and insults from the person complaining of pain. Her teacher was always less than forgiving.

Smack!

Looks like it's started up again. Let's have a look, shall we? (DIE Jiminy Cricket!)

Crash!

Thud!

"Ooow."

"Get up," Samantha ordered, standing over her student, hands on hips, steel practice sword in hand. "We're not done yet."

"Wanna bet?" her pupil muttered, rolling onto her stomach and beginning to crawl toward the locked door. Suddenly both her sword and that of her teacher were quivering, buried halfway up the blade, in the wooden floor, millimeters from her face.

Umi gulped.

"Okay, it's not over," she reluctantly admitted.

"No, it's not," Samantha agreed. "Get up and try again."

"But I'm sore and bruised all over and bleeding," Umi protested.

"Deal," Samantha snapped as she easily yanked her sword out of the ground. "Just be glad you're not being taught by the Mashin. It makes my hits feel like love taps." Umi just groaned, painfully hauled herself to her feet, and pulled her sword out of the stubborn plank, which was harder to do than Samantha had made it look.

She took the ready position and barely had time to blink before she was on her back again. Samantha was leaning over her again.

"Maybe we should stop," the blonde suggested skeptically. "If you can't even conduct a proper defense, it's pointless to continue."

"Let's stop," the current Knight of Water instantly agreed, getting to her feet and retrieving her practice sword.

"I'll take that, if you don't mind," a voice said behind her. Umi still had enough energy to spin around, and did so to find a blue-haired man with sapphire eyes staring at her. His hand was outstretched for Umi's practice sword. She handed it to him, and Samantha groaned.

"This is going to hurt," the Knight of Earth muttered to herself as she resumed a ready stance. The young man took Umi's place as the Knight of Water staggered over to sit against the wall with her friends.

They noticed with surprise that Samantha actually looked a bit nervous and very resigned. She had been nothing but a bit of a heartless bully when she taught them.

"Just get it over with," the blonde told her opponent tiredly. "And don't break any of my bones this time, Selece."

"As you wish," the young man replied courteously. The others were shocked into speechlessness by the name, _Selece_.

He charged her, and she managed to parry three of his strikes before one hit her solidly in the side. Her breath came out in a rush, but she managed to stay standing. The fight continued like this for a few minutes, Samantha entirely on the defensive, with the azure-haired man getting through her defense easily, though she blocked the majority of his strikes.

Finally, the young man struck a hit at such an angle that Samantha was thrown into the air and hit the wall behind her with a resounding thud. Slowly, she slid to the ground.

"I'm not done yet, am I?" the Knight of Earth asked tiredly from her position on her stomach on the ground.

"Get up," the young man ordered. The others recognized the tone. It was the same one Samantha used when teaching them.

With a groan, Samantha hauled herself to her feet and retrieved her sword. Selece charged her again as soon as she had her sword up. Very soon, she was staring at the celling.

Getting up again, she kept a tighter defense this time, though it was useless. She didn't have the energy to keep up as strong a defense, and each block vibrated up her arms.

Then she was thrown into the wall a final time. Facedown, hair covering her face, she didn't respond at all, or get up for more sadist/machonist punishment.

"Samantha?" the young man asked cautiously, nudging the girl lightly with his foot.

"I'm staying down this time," she muttered. "I'm staying here. Leave me 'lone, Selece."

"Fine," the man sighed. "I can't make you get up. How long until you pass out?"

"Selece, if I can't even get to my elbows, let alone my knees, why do you care?" Samantha asked weakly.

"So, about three seconds?" he guessed.

"Yep," Samantha confirmed. "Now go away." So the man turned to the other Knights after scooping up the other practice weapon. Umi was sputtering and staring at him.

"Yes?" he asked patiently.

"You… Selece… real?" she managed.

"Yes," the man replied calmly. "How did you think we taught the last Knights? Our animals forms are not suited to holding weapons and our other humanoid form is much too large." As the girls stared, he went to a closet in the corner and put the two practice swords back in their resting places.

"Anything you want to ask me?" he questioned patiently. The girls shook their heads dazedly and the Mashin vanished as a globe of water surrounded him and vanished back to the Mashin's sleeping dimension.

The room was like a wax museum for a good ten minutes, Samantha unconscious on the floor and the other three staring at the empty spot where the Water Mashin had been.

Then a call from the other Mashin informed them that the enemy was attacking again. So the three newest Knights ran to get their swords from Presea and then entered the Mashin, ready to fight again.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Presea was walking around the castle, trying to get her mind off the battle raging outside. Clef had ordered her out of the Throne Room where he was performing useless magic, and she wasn't really sure she wanted to watch anyway.

Something was bothering her. There was this tickling in the back of her mind, teasing her, taunting her by withholding the knowledge of what exactly was wrong. Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her mind flashed back to a time when she was maybe three or four. Four children had visited her and her mother, playing with her and making the young child laugh. She vaguely remembered two of the children looking alike and appearing to know the thoughts of the other one. It still creeped her out after all these years, though she couldn't remember what any of the children had looked like.

But the identity of the children wasn't what was really bothering her, though that had since Samantha's appearance in Cephiro. What was really bothering her was the location of the Knight of Earth. She hadn't seen the blonde for a while, and the girl hadn't come to Presea for her sword. Then again, Presea wasn't even sure if the girl _had_ a sword.

Samantha hadn't been seen by any but the Magic Knights since breakfast. She was probably in her room or one of the empty rooms reserved for magical and physical practice. But still, it disturbed the Pharle to not see Samantha fighting with the other Knights. It felt wrong for them to fight and her to stay safe in the castle and watch. Plus, it didn't seem in the girl's nature to stay out when she could help.

So Presea began to her search, starting with the Knight of Earth's bedroom. Nope, perfectly clean, with only her bag to signify that someone slept there, no sign whatsoever of Samantha or where she may be. Then Presea began to search the sparring rooms one by one.

She was just about to give up when she found the girl. Opening yet another door, Presea glanced in without really looking. If Samantha hadn't been directly in front of the door on the other side of the room, Presea wouldn't have seen her.

"Lafarga!" she shouted, pitching her panicked voice so it would carry into the man's nearby quarters. The swordsman came running.

"What is it?" he demanded. One look into the room was all he needed. After the two of them checked her over for broken bones and found none, he scooped her up and Presea led him to the girl's room. He laid her on her bed and left. Presea stayed for a while, snippets of long-forgotten memories flashing across her mind every so often.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Clef was having similar problems. He had quickly given up on using his magic, as it had absolutely no effect but to wear him out. Plus, he couldn't concentrate with snippets of memory from long ago flashing across his vision when he was trying to concentrate.

Sometimes memory could be bad. Four children that had visited him and his father long ago were now taunting him, bringing his memories back of them, but hiding their faces and names. In some ways, Samantha reminded him to an eerie degree of one of the three girls and the boy. Too bad he couldn't remember any names or faces. Those would really help.

The other thing giving him problems was that Samantha wasn't out fighting. To fight this enemy was the reason she had been summoned, so she should be fighting! He grumbled to himself about the unfairness as he went to hunt down the object of his wrath.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Fire Arrow!" Hikaru screamed. The fire destroyed about a third of the ships. All three were surprised at the results, but this past week had been so strange that they didn't read much into it.

The remaining ships let loose a salvo of bullets.

"Guardian Wind!" Fuu called, thrusting her sword out in front of her. The winds surrounding the Magic Knights not only protected them, but destroyed the closest bullets.

"Ice Sword!" Umi shouted, striking out at the enemy. Another third said goodbye to life. Still, the remaining third refused to retreat.

_They will fight to the very last being,_ Fuu remembered Samantha telling them. _Don't expect them to retreat, or even hope for it, even if it _is_ prudent. It won't happen._ With that thought in mind, she yelled, "Binding Winds!" The winds bound the ships, then tightened and continued to do so until the ships exploded.

The girls floated in the Mashin for a few moments in stunned silence.

"Did you know you could do that?" Umi finally asked.

"No, Umi, I didn't," Fuu replied softly. "I intended to just bind them, but my magic…"

_Changed the end result based upon your desires,_ Windom finished, providing an explanation for all three girls. _Your magic and the end result not only rely upon your heart, but your memories._

"But…" Fuu began to protest.

_You recalled something the Magic Knight of Earth taught,_ Windom continued._ That changed your desire even as you attacked._

"So, what you're saying is that, even though our hearts control our powers and the strength, our memories change what exactly the attack does?" Hikaru asked.

_Yes,_ Rayearth confirmed. _Now, let us return to the castle. There is no need to make a spectacle of ourselves._ So they returned to land.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Is she awake yet?" Umi asked quietly as the three spoke with a distracted Presea outside Samantha's room.

"No…" Presea responded absently. She wasn't really paying attention. She wanted to find Clef and her mother and question them very closely.

"What's wrong?" Hikaru demanded.

"With Samantha?" the Pharle asked. "We don't—"

"No," Hikaru interrupted. "_You_. What's wrong with _you_? You've been really distracted and haven't been paying attention. What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Presea sighed sadly. So the girls decided they would pry later.

"May we see Sam?" Fuu asked. Suddenly, Presea's eyes were unfocused, as though she was remembering. Then she blinked and returned to reality.

"Um, sure, you can go see Samantha," she responded weakly before walking off.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Sam?" Fuu called quietly as they entered the Knight of Earth's room.

No answer. So they waited for her to wake up, quietly discussing the day's events.

A groan interrupted them.

"Sam?" Fuu repeated.

"I'm not Sam," Samantha muttered, pulling her pillow over her face. "He's not here. Leave me alone."

"Are you okay, Samantha?" Fuu rephrased.

"What do I look like?" Samantha mumbled. "Leave me alone."

"Why should we?" Umi demanded harshly. "You avoid us at all costs and then any anger you feel you take out on us in training! What's the point of that training anyway? It doesn't do anything except get us used to pain!"

"Higher pain tolerance _is_ the point," Samantha sighed as she sat up, gently fingering the large bruise on her cheek. "If you can't deal with a small amount of pain from me, you won't be able to deal with it from the enemy. Which would end your 'careers' instantly, not to mention your lives. Whether I want to or not, I have to keep you alive. And no, Umi, I don't take my anger out on you. It just seems that way because you aren't used to fighting someone directly connected to their element. Why else do you think we always fight in rooms with wood floors and me barefoot? It adds to my endurance, not to mention the amount of pain my body can take." The girls weren't too pleased with this answer but they had no reply. So silence stretched for a few moments before Hikaru spoke.

"Hey, Samantha," she said. "While you were out, the enemy attacked. Our attacks and magic seem to either be stronger or the enemy weaker. Each of us destroyed about a third with one attack."

"Oh. You're probably stronger. They aren't going to suddenly send out weak ships for no reason. How many were there?" Samantha responded absently.

_Near thirtyscore,_ Rayearth informed the Knights calmly.

"Nearly six hundred?" Samantha was surprised. "You guys really _are_ getting better."

"Really?" Umi asked eagerly. She had learned early on that Samantha and compliments were a rare mix.

"Yes, really," Samantha sighed. "Don't let it go to your head. You _still_ don't last even ten minutes against me."

_You've got a black eye,_ Windom commented disinterestedly. Samantha made a face.

"So I noticed. I can't see out of it either. How many more bruises do I have, Selece?" she inquired.

_Quite a lot,_ the Water Mashin replied dryly. _When was the last time you touched a sword?_

"Yesterday," Samantha responded blithely.

Before_ coming here again,_ Rayearth demanded.

"About… six years," Samantha responded flatly. Then she made a face. "Damn it all," she muttered. "I want _my_ sword back."

_So _ask_ for it,_ Windom suggested.

"Why?" the Knight of Earth wanted to know. "I can't use it until I fight out there with you all. Besides, I don't know where Monica is, so I _can't_ ask for it."

_What about her daughter?_ Rayearth suggested._ She's chief Pharle now._

"But I don't know if she even has it," Samantha argued. "Monica might not have given it to her. I wasn't supposed to have to come back, remember? So maybe, she didn't see the point of giving it up if it wasn't going to be ever used again."

It was very interesting for the other Knights to watch this exchange. They could hear the Mashin and thus, the full conversation, but it was _very_ easy to imagine what this would look like to someone who couldn't hear the Mashin.

Then Clef burst in, looking as angry as a bull ready to charge, effectively cutting off the conversation.

"Yes, Guru?" Samantha asked calmly.

"You were supposed to be out there!" he screeched, face turning so red it was almost purple. "Not hiding away in here! You were summoned to _fight_, not cower inside!" At that point, Samantha just tuned him out. She'd hear when he finished and then make the appropriate sounds, words of apology and various other junk while she actually thought about other things. It had worked with everyone else for the past six years.

He certainly had changed from the little toddler she remembered, so eager to please, rarely making a fuss. But then again, she recalled, when he _did_ make a fuss, it was always very loudly and a big one. But he had been so _cute_ in his loose, white pants and shirt. Especially when he chased Presea when they were playing tag and tripped. He looked so funny, and didn't mind when the four Knights had burst out laughing. He had just gotten up and continued to chase Presea while their parents chatted.

Coming back to the present as Clef wound down on his rant, Samantha was surprised to see the other girls looking angry. Before she could say anything, Hikaru lost her temper.

"It's not her fault!" the Pillar shouted, a dangerous spark in her eyes. "She sparred with Selece and he knocked her out! It's not her fault she couldn't fight if she was unconscious!"

The others added their own opinions while Samantha remained silent. She was confused. She had done _nothing_ for these girls, and yet, here they were, defending her! Where was the reasoning in that?

She understood Hikaru's reasoning: the girl was Pillar, had a kind heart, and was repaying the debt she had accumulated with Samantha sticking up for her and getting rid of idiot bullies. But the others… why were they doing this for her?

Once the other three had gotten the Guru to apologize and leave, Samantha presented them with the question.

"Why did you do that for me?" she wanted to know, staring at the closed door.

The girls stared in shock. Did Samantha really have so few friends that no one ever stuck up for her?

"Because… it wasn't fair," Umi replied slowly.

"Clef had no right to yell at you like that," Fuu continued.

"Why did you just sit there and take it?" Hikaru demanded. "You could have stood up for yourself."

"Wouldn't have done anything," Samantha shrugged. "Besides, I'm used to it. I've had worse. There was no reason for you three to explode like that." The girls were disturbed at how easily the words slid off her, like water slid off an oiled tarp.

"WHAT is WRONG with you!" Umi shouted. "You get yelled at for ten minutes straight, and then when someone sticks up for you, you want to know why they did it! And you don't even react! What's WRONG with you!"

_This is how she deals with anything potentially harmful,_ Selece explained._ If she doesn't feel anything, nothing can hurt her. Personally, I think that method is more harmful than anything else._

"Gee, thanks for the support," Samantha responded dryly. Then she added mischievously, "I can still fly, right Pegasus?"

_You should,_ Pegasus agreed slowly, _but I don't see what that has to do with—Hey!_

_Can't catch me,_ Samantha taunted the Mashin. Aside from the Mashin of Earth's grumbling, all was silent.

"Samantha?" Fuu finally asked. "What did you mean by that?"

The girl did not answer. She was staring at nothingness in front of her, unmoving.

"Samantha?" they asked again.

Again, no answer.

"What's wrong with her?" Hikaru asked the Mashin.

_Her spirit has left her body,_ Pegasus sighed._ She'll be back when she gets tired. Until then, I've got to go find her. Please excuse me._ Then the Knights could no longer feel his presence in their minds, though they could dimly feel him calling for Samantha.

"Explanation, if you please?" Umi demanded.

_Samantha's element is earth, and so she can send her spirit out through her element at any given time, though it helps if she is directly connected to it when she does so. She calls this "flying." She has a tendency to do this more often when something is bothering her,_ Rayearth explained easily._ I'm curious as to how she will teach that particular aspect of magic to you._

"…"

They had no answers to this, and so merely waited for the return of the Magic Knight of Earth and her Mashin.

They finally gave up waiting when it grew dark outside, and went to find dinner.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Hey, Pegasus?"

_What is it, Samantha?_ the Mashin asked without looking at his charge. They were currently located at the Shrine of the Land, which was located in the center of a humongus mountain. Currently, Samantha was sitting on the steps, legs pulled up to her chest.

"Do you think my method of dealing with things is bad for me?" She seemed truly worried by this.

_I'm not sure,_ Pegasus answered carefully._ Sometimes, it is more helpful than any other form of armor, but it doesn't exactly help when it comes to making friends._

"But I've got all the friends I need," Samantha objected. "I've got you and the other Mashin, and Chloe and some of the other sprites, and my memories of Marie, Kathy, and Sam. That's all I need."

_No, it's not,_ Pegasus countered gently. _Do you have any friends back on Earth, in Tokyo, or anywhere else?_

Her silence was more than enough answer.

_Why don't you try to make friends?_ he asked casually after listening to Samantha rock back and forth on the stone steps for a few minutes.

"Because… you know how much I share with people," Samantha began in a despairing voice. "You know that I can't keep secrets from my friends. I mean, I tried… in the beginning anyway, but…" Here she shook her head. "When they asked why I was always so sad, I told the truth. They ran away after that." She gave a bitter laugh. "What good am I anyway? Sometimes, it seems like my reason for existing is simply to creep people out and be depressing." Then one of her best friends could only watch as tears began to slip down her cheeks, faster and faster, until they had become an endless stream.

"Why me?" she demanded softly. "Why _me_? I've always been the weakest, the slow one, the one who needed help. Why'd _I_ survive instead of the others? It doesn't make any sense! Even with their protection, I should have died then! There was no reason for me to survive! I'm the weakest, the worthless one, the useless brat! Why me? I didn't deserve to live; they did! So why was I granted life and they death! It's not right!"

Pegasus listened to his friend's mumblings uneasily. He nor the other Mashin had felt the true death of the rest of the last Knights, but by Cephiro's standards, they were dead. No magic, no spirits in their bodies, no strength, no way to survive the injuries without an uninjured, amazingly talented healer at full power nearby. Which there hadn't been. So they were considered dead, which was why new Knights were summoned for Emeraude.

But to Pegasus… something felt off. Maybe Sam, Kathy, and Marie were somehow still alive. However, if that were the case, wouldn't Samantha know they still lived? After all, the four had had a very close mental bond, evident by the state Samantha had been in as soon as they sent her their power, and by the state she was still in. Plus, Sam was her brother. She would know if he lived. And then Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu could not have become Knights because the last ones still lived. All this led to the conclusion that the past Magic Knights were dead but for Samantha. Still… Pegasus couldn't feeling that this was not the real truth.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The other three Knights were busy trying to find Samantha. Her body was no longer in her rooms, but somehow they didn't see the note sitting on her bed in her body's place. The note which explained where she was and when she'd be back.

So they were all but tearing the castle apart, one of them checking the Knight of Earth's room every five minutes or so, just to see if she'd come back. Finally, they gave up. She'd be back when she was back.

They were in the Throne room with Presea and the rest when Samantha showed up, hours later.

"Something wrong?" she asked, seeing as how all eight of them looked ready to slaughter her.

"**_WHERE_** HAVE YOU **_BEEN_**!" the other Knights shrieked as one.

"Out," Samantha sighed, staring out one of the many floor-to-ceiling windows. "You don't really need to worry about me, you know. I can take care of myself."

Umi blushed slightly. "Maybe you can, and maybe you can't," she retorted. "You haven't been here in who knows how long, and yet you claim to be a Knight! Sure, we saw you in weird robes in the Mashin's dimension, and _they_ say you're a Knight, but you don't have a sword, or armor, or _anything_!"

"I didn't ask for the armor, and I've been avoiding Clef for entirely that reason," Samantha snapped as she spun to face the dais. "I don't really want it. Yes, it's dangerous outside, but I can take care of myself. I _did_ have a sword last time I was here, but it was returned to its creator when I left. I have my magic, and right now, that's all I need if I get in a fight." Her brown eyes were cold and heartless… just downright scary.

"And if we get attacked again?" Clef demanded. "Will you be hiding again? Or will you be fighting?"

"First off, I was unconscious, not hiding. Second, I'll get my sword back, then help out. If I'm needed," Samantha sighed. "If I'm not, then what'll be the reason for me leaving the castle in the first place?"

"So you're saying you'll hide?" Clef challenged.

"No, I"m not!" Samantha shouted, anger sparking in her cold eyes. "I just don't see the point in going out and being useless and a target for some bounty!"

"There's a price on your head?" Lantis asked, eyebrows raised. Samantha looked at him, blinked, stared, blinked again, and stared some more. Then she blinked a third time and looked away as she answered.

"Yes. Or rather," she corrected herself. "I think there is. My group became fairly notorious for some of the things we did. Considering the passion behind all of those shots… Yeah, there's still a price on my head."

"And you're okay with that?" Ferio asked.

"In a word, Prince, yes."

"I don't understand."

"I have no control over my own life," Samantha sighed. "I've accepted that. I just take things as they come at me and adapt to them. I don't really try to do anything else. There's not much else I can do _but_ accept things. If I didn't accept things as they came, how could I survive this long?" The others grudgingly conceded the point.

"How long has it been anyway?" she asked after a moment of silence.

Clef was the only one to understand. "It's been seven hundred forty years since Emeraude became the Pillar," he informed Samantha.

"Lovely," she drawled. "That means, that by Cephiro's standards, I've been gone for seven hundred and forty years. That's just lovely."

_Don't suppose the old rules still apply, do they?_ she asked the Mashin silently.

_Is this a bloodthirsty country?_ Rayearth countered.

_It's turning into one,_ Samantha snapped back, her eyes flicking to the window and back to her audience. _You know what those creatures are like as well as I do._

Her attention was called back to the present by the castle shaking violently. Everyone fell over.

Samantha hit one knee and stayed that way, one hand on the ground, eyes closed, as she searched throughout the country for the trouble.

By the time she came back into herself the shaking had stopped and everyone else had regained their feet.

"Ow," she gasped, opening her eyes. "The ground beneath the Wind Shrine is taking a bad beating," she told the others as she forced herself to stand.

The other three Knights immediately summoned their swords and raised them over their heads, their armor and uniforms changing to the ones they wore in the Mashin while their elements surrounded them. They vanished into their respective Mashin after the spectacular display.

"Presea," Samantha asked calmly, masking the emotions stampeding through her, "Did your mother ever give you any swords she had made?"

"I received one my mother had made when I was made Chief Pharle," the woman admitted. "But what does this have to with what's going on now?"

"That sword's mine," the remaining Knight explained as she watched the newer Knights get their heads handed to them on a silver platter. "If you want this world to survive much longer, I need it so I can fight."

"How do we know its yours?" Clef wanted to know. He just found the girl annoying and something about her attitude got under his skin.

"You don't," Samantha sighed. "But we don't have time to argue," she added, her voice becoming urgent as she turned pleading eyes on Presea. "Just give me the sword. If it's not mine, it'll know that. It'll make sure I don't use it by… painful means. If it recognizes me, I'll be fine."

So Presea gave in and reached into that place deep inside her where she kept her links to the weapons she had created. Holding her hand in the air above her, she summoned the sword which her mother had made over seven hundred years ago.

Amid the sparkling streamers of Presea's magic, a sword formed. Upon the hilt were two amber stones, and the hilt appeared to be a unicorn's brown horn. The silvery blade spun round and round in the air, finally stopping, blade tip pointing toward Samantha.

The blade flew toward the girl who watched it with steady eyes. She did not reach for it. The exquisite sword plunged itself into her stomach and the young woman hit her knees among panicked shouts.

**AN:** YES! I AM stopping there! Aren't I the spawn of all evil? How is she going to help Cephiro when she's got a sword in her gut? You'll see… gives evil laughSorry it's been so long since I updated, but writer's block is horrible. So are lots of tests and homework, and so are teachers who won't accept overdue reports that are overdue simply because the damn printer won't work… But that's not the point. Stay tuned for next update!


	7. Magic and Secrets

**AN:** Ha, ha! I have returned! This is chapter seven, and I'm still hyper that I made it past chapter five! audience begins to throw tomatoes at NH What's that for! Oh, you want chapter seven! Yeah, you hate that cliffhanger, don't ya? Well, once you're through with the review replies, you can finish the chapter.

**Review Replies!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Okay, so I don't fit the qualifications for 'evil' when it comes to cliffhangers. shrugs Oh, well. Guess I'll have to check out this "Mr. Evil." Believe it or not, a family member who can still stand Rayearth even after all I put him through, considers it evil and I've had to ban him from the sight of the ancient computer I use so he'll stop reading over my shoulder as I type. Glad you like it! Thanks for waiting so patiently!

**DayDreamer9:** Well, the sword's not exactly being _mean_… you have to have a mind or feelings to do that and the sword has neither. It's just going by the rules of the time in which it had been created, which say for all magical swords, "If you ain't my owner and you try to take or use me, prepare to die a most painful death." I know, it sucks for Samantha, but she'll be fine… eventually. evil laughYes, the newer Knights worry about Samantha but she has… issues… with making friends… especially when they're "claiming to be Magic Knights." But they'll eventually have to wear her down. Eventually. Keep that word in mind. Are the old Knights really still alive? Um… they have no bodies and there are no spirits floating around anywhere in Cephiro. But can I give you a straight answer? 'Fraid not. Too confusing.

**Disclaimer:** You people know what I own. If they ain't mentioned BY NAME with a PICTURE of them in the manga, they're mine and I will hunt you down and slowly slaughter you if you take them. Got it? That includes the higher forms of Mashin bonding, which you will see in this chapter.

**Chapter Seven**

**Magic and Secrets**

Panicked shrieks met Samantha's ears, but she did not hear them. She heard her blood pounding through her veins and beginning to pool on the tiled floor. When Presea began to cry and start forward, Samantha shook her head, though that only caused her head to pound some more as she began to call upon the powers long since dormant in her.

Thankfully, everyone but the lone Knight stayed on the dais.

Samantha Ten'kai, Magic Knight of Earth, slayer of the Pillar Matilda, gripped the sword hilt sticking out of her bleeding stomach and began to pull. The shouts from the dais only increased.

As the sword slowly moved, streamers of pale brown magic began to leap out from where the sword and body met and from the flowing blood to form a large globe around Samantha, brighter than the sun.

Once this faded and those on the dais were able to see again, they looked out to where Samantha had last been preparing to see a bloody corpse or dying girl. Instead…

Samantha stood there in her Magic Knight robes of beige and deep brown, looking down at her decorated sword as she turned it around in her hand. Her long hair had been freed of its braid and flowed around the girl, as did the robes with red, blue, and green trim.

"You can stop crying now, Presea," the Magic Knight of Earth said with a gentle smile and sad eyes as she looked at the Pharle. "I'm fine. You didn't do anything to me."

"Didn't do anything!" Presea shouted, completely losing her composure. "Didn't do anything! I nearly _killed_ you, and you say I didn't do anything!"

"That's right," Samantha repeated. "My sword is, apparently, the only one left of my group's. The swords of my group of Magic Knights were made in a time when _everything_ you did had a price, more often in blood than not. You couldn't have known. That reign ended when you were only three or so. You've grown up in a peaceful world, where you only pay blood if you go into the Forest of Silence unprepared and encounter monsters. You did nothing wrong. Do you hear me? _Nothing wrong_. I did this to myself by asking you to give my sword back. I knew what was coming and chose not to tell you about it. If anyone did anything wrong, it's me. Stop blaming yourself for the sword driving itself into my gut when I all but put it there myself. Stop crying." Slowly, Presea stopped her sobs. Samantha was fine, she no longer had the stomach wound where the sword had driven itself. She wasn't dead. Samantha sounded like an elder reassuring a small child who was scared.

"Are you okay now?" the girl asked the Pharle gently. Presea slowly nodded, feeling like a tiny child.

_Time to join in,_ a deep voice said from behind Samantha. The young woman looked over her head, turning slightly to clearly see the unicorn, Mashin of Earth behind her, near the room's entrance. She ignored the cries of pain as those upon the dais protected their ears against the voice that boomed much too loudly.

_You didn't have to be so loud_, she thought at him."This is going to hurt just as much as it ever did, isn't it?" the blonde asked aloud, already knowing the answer.

_Just don't scream,_ Pegasus advised as he began to trot towards his Knight. Samantha tried very hard not to brace herself for pain as he came closer and closer, but it was near impossible.

She managed to keep from screaming in agony as she merged with her Mashin partner, but only just. Her body began to grow, expand, change shape to accommodate both the spirits it would soon hold. Pure, raw power rushed through her blood, scalding her veins, scorching her, body and soul. Only experience, and the knowledge the pain would soon kept her sane and conscious.

When her eyes stopped watering and she could see something beyond the shades of brown that was her power, she realized they were outside the castle, and _way_ too close to those missiles for her own sense of comfort.

_Isn't this a bit close?_ she asked Pegasus. She knew his reply even as he formulated into words.

_Depends. Are we trying to help or hinder?_ She also knew that he was only bothering to form thoughts as words rather than the jumble of feelings and images that he usually sent her because she was so out of practice and could no longer do the trick without thinking.

In a fight like this, taking your mind off your opponent often meant death.

Which reminded her…

"Earth Shaking!" Each and every ship began to shake, violently, and their shots no longer went where they aimed. Now, most of the shots boomeranged back at their shooter, usually crashing through the same port from which they had left or went wide. A very small amount actually made it to the Knights.

The others, recently returned to the air, floated in pure shock, staring at the woman/Mashin merge in front of them. Humanoid, like all the Mashin, a unicorn's mask over the face, complete with horn hid whatever face may be there. Skintight brown covered the merged creature. Amber jewels decorated the shoulder pads, chest, elbows, knees, and wrists, as well as the sword. Long blonde hair flew free as the giant sword batted the cannonballs away as easily as flies.

She missed one and it drove itself deep into her shoulder. Samantha/Pegasus ignored it and continued to bat the bullets back into their resting places. They got rid of most of the ships this way.

"Your turn!" Samantha suddenly shouted and jumped back, leaving the remaining ships to the recovered, but shocked, Knights.

"FIRE ARROW!" Hikaru called, Rayearth's voice echoing hers. Vines of flame wrapped around three of the ships, slowly encasing them in a thin layer of fire before they exploded, destroying the ones next to them.

"WATER DRAGON!" Umi shouted, Selece's voice echoing hers as Rayearth's did Hikaru's. The 'dragon' leapt for the ships, became three, and each destroyed one apiece before vanishing.

"GREEN TORNADO!" As with the others, Windom's voice echoed Fuu's, as though he knew what she was thinking as she thought it. The thought was a bit unnerving to the newer girls.

That magical tornado devastated the three remaining ships, blasting them to the four corners of the earth as they came apart.

Then they calmly returned to the castle.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Are you okay?" Fuu asked Samantha as the girl remained on her Mashin's shoulder, leaning against the giant head.

"I'll be fine," Samantha called down.

"So why don't you get down here?" Umi shouted up.

_Just get off,_ Pegasus sighed. _This is humiliating._

_Which part?_ Samantha asked him impishly. _Me up here, or them shouting?_

_A bit of both,_ he replied dryly. _Will your legs last a jump that far?_ Samantha judged the distance. Since Pegasus had gone down a level when they split apart, he was a little shorter than the other Mashin, and was wearing armor exactly the same but for the color. He was kneeling so, Samantha assumed she could survive the landing, even though she had no armor still on her. After all, the tiles were originally mud in the ground. She could make it soft for her descent.

"You might want to move," she advised the others. They moved back a good ten feet and Samantha jumped, requesting the tiles she would land on to return to their squishy feel. Even with that, Samantha had the wind knocked out of her when her feet hit them, just a bit too hard.

"Ow," she muttered as her face smashed into the harder tiles and the ones beneath her returned to their normal firmness.

"Are you okay?" Hikaru asked, fighting back giggles.

"Really sore," Samantha said. "But other than that? Yeah, I'm fine. You can laugh if you want to," she told them. "I don't mind." The others began to laugh, but stopped suddenly when Samantha brushed her hair back over her shoulders and revealed a large amount of blood, streaming from her shoulder. The shirt, however, was intact.

"What… happened…?" Umi managed to choke out, staring with bulging eyes at the bloodstain, getting bigger with each passing second.

"What do you mean?" Samantha asked, seeming startled.

"Your SHOULDER, you baka!" Umi shouted, suddenly angry. "Your SHOULDER!"

Samantha looked down at the bloodstain and watched it grow for a few moments, then slipped a hand under the t-shirt sleeve and began to dig into the wound with her fingers.

"What are you doing?" Fuu asked warily. She had learned enough to know that you could never be quite sure what Samantha was going to do.

"The bullet that hit me in the fight is still in me," the Knight of Earth replied absently. "I'm trying to get it out."

"But— those bullets are twice the size of your _body_," Umi objected.

"My body grew and adjusted to reach the level of Mashin bonding I'm used to—the one you needed me so you wouldn't get yourselves killed. When I returned to this form, I've got a feeling the bullet shrunk too. It's starting to annoy me." She was silent for a moment, face scrunched up in concentration. Then her face lit up and she took her hand, dripping in her own blood, from her shoulder and showed her small audience the tiny bullet she'd pulled out.

"You're right, that thing really shrunk!" Hikaru exclaimed as she leaned closer to look. The other crowded around Samantha to see the bloodied bullet, but Umi just took a quick look and backed away, looking in another direction entirely.

_Guess she doesn't like seeing blood,_ Samantha mused to herself._ She can obviously handle it though, if she's lasted this long. Probably just creeped out by me digging into my own wound and not appearing to be in pain._

"How do you feel?" Umi asked quietly, still looking the other way.

"It hurts a bit, but it's nothing compared to some of the other injuries I've had." This apparently was not the answer to give. The Knight of Water turned green and hurried off, most likely to find a bathroom.

"Want me to heal it? What if it gets worse?" Fuu worried.

"I'll be fine if I just get it bandaged up," Samantha reassured them. "And it _won't_ be getting any worse. You two might want to find Umi and head to bed: you'll be hurting all over and maybe ill by the time night hits. Your bodies and magic aren't used to what you just put yourselves through." With those words, she stumbled off.

The two Knights stared after her vanishing figure for a moment. Was Samantha actually _looking out_ for _them_? Sure, when she was 'training' them, she'd stop just as they reached the very edge of their limits, but she would make sure they'd been through plenty of pain and suffering before then. Being kind for the sake of being kind and looking out for people she didn't even like didn't fit what they knew of Samantha.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Mother?" Presea called softly. She was back at her house in the midst of the Forest of Silence. "Mother, it's me." There were some shuffling, then an older woman with a striking resemblance to Presea appeared out in the hall.

"Presea!" she called, running to hug her daughter. "I haven't seen you in so long! Are you all right?" She had noticed how pale her daughter was and the tear stains.

"I'm fine," Presea told her mother. "I just have some questions for you. Do you remember those four children who came to visit us when I was little?"

"Of course I remember," her mother told her, looking surprised. "But I must say, I never expected you to. You were so little, about three years old. But you so loved the company."

"I don't remember much about them," Presea informed her mother. "I just remember that there were four and two of them scared me."

"Oh," her mother laughed. "You mean the twins. Yes, they had that effect on nearly everyone. They would finish each other's sentences, speak in half sentences to each other, and _always_ dressed exactly the same. They spent a few months with us, but it wasn't until the end of the time that we could really tell them apart. What do you want to know?"

"What were the names of the children?"

"Marie was the black-haired one, the one who was 'friends with the scary fire,' as you used to say," the woman laughed. "Kathy was the brunette who taught you to swim. Samuel was the blonde boy who liked heights. He and his twin sister, Samantha, liked to play tricks on you."

"Samuel," Presea gasped, her eyes widening as she grabbed her mother's arm. "Did anyone ever call him 'Sam'?"

"Yes," her mother answered slowly, trying to read her daughter's face. "His sister always did, and I believe the Mashin called him that as well."

"Did Samantha have a nickname?"

"I believe her friends called her 'Sammy' so they could tell her apart from her brother, but I always called her 'Samantha.' You and Clef always called them both 'Sam,' though. Neither of you could pronounce 'Sammy,' so you two got away with calling them the same thing. No else did though. She'd just ignore a person until they said 'Sammy.' "

"What—what did they call you?" Presea choked out, feeling strong deja vu and slight trepidation.

"Monica," her mother said, puzzled. "That's my name, after all."

"Thanks, Mother," Presea said gratefully, hugging her mother tightly. "I've got to get back to the castle now. See you soon."

Then she left, racing out the the house and quickly disappearing into the Forest.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Samantha all but fell into bed.

"That hurts," she groaned as the wind picked at her shoulder. She could feel Windom controlling it, trying to heal her. "Why don't you wait until I'm asleep?"

_Because I don't believe you want to wash these sheets all over again_, Windom replied. _Didn't you have to do that because of another stupid move last week?_

_But that was because I got in a direct fight,_ Samantha protested weakly. She was so dizzy. _This time… this time… I had to get a deep wound because… because I… because I couldn't…_ She was too dizzy and her mind felt too fuzzy for her to form a complete thought.

_Because you used your magic in an actual attack?_ Rayearth suggested softly.

_Yeah, that's it_, Samantha mumbled. _That's what I meant. I think I lost too much blood._

_So give in and sleep_, Windom suggested. _Then I can heal you and you will feel a bit better when you wake up._

Samantha didn't hear the second thought. She had already succumbed to the beckoning darkness. Windom instantly got to work. Samantha had lost over two pints of blood and was losing more with each passing second.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Yuck," Umi muttered, rinsing out the bitter taste in her mouth. Then she looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look her best, but she looked really good compared to how she felt. Her head was killing her and she had just emptied her lunch and dinner into the porcelain toilet bowl. And, atop of all that, she felt like she'd been battered with hammers.

_Not too far from the truth_, she admitted to herself, remembering where she had just come from and the day's events.

"I'm going to bed," she muttered. "I can't concentrate."

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The three newer Knights met up in their room and were all in deep, drained sleeps by the time Gardina stopped by to check on them.

"They're so cute," she chuckled, shaking her head.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Clef," Presea began. She'd cornered him in his study. "What do you remember of the children who visited us when we were really little?"

Clef started, dropping his large book on his foot.

"Ow! Um, not much Presea," he apologized as he rubbed his wounded foot. "Why?"

"Well," she began. "I'm thinking that Samantha may be one of them."

"That would explain our feelings when she first got here," he admitted.

"According to my mother," the woman continued. "The boy was Samantha's brother, whom everyone called Sam, and the other two were named Marie and Kathy. Does any of this ring a bell?"

More than you know," he told her dryly. "I think there are some records of their lives here, including their Battle. But I've never managed to find those things. I can ask around though, if you want."

Presea nodded. "If Samantha decides to be difficult and refuses to explain enough for us to understand her, then we may have to show the records to the girls."

Clef agreed and Presea left, each secretly hoping Samantha would open up so they wouldn't have to accidentally hurt her.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Ow," Samantha muttered, holding her head. It was bounding like a drum run by a child with a temper tantrum. Can anyone say hangover?

Once the world stopped spinning, she made herself presentable to the world, absently noting the length her hair had gotten. It was now past her knees. Was it really worth the effort?

_I know you think it looks nice,_ Pegasus commented inside her head. _But I think it needs cutting._

_You're right,_ she agreed._ But there's still the question of how and when._

_Why don't you ask someone to do it?_

_Because everyone here has more important things to do than worry about me._

_That's what you really think?_

_Wow. You noticed._ The scarcasm was not lost on the Mashin.

_You really need to stop feeling sorry for yourself,_ Windom told her.

_I tried,_ she said flatly. _Didn't work. Just got way too much pity from everyone else._

_And being colder than ice helps?_

_Shut up._

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Moments later, Samantha was wandering the halls in search of Lantis. She was bored and wanted to spar with someone at or near her level. There was no stress-relief when she taught the newer Knights. She'd heard that Lantis was really good, and a Cail.

"Lantis," the blonde called, finally finding the man in an empty room. "Do you want to have a match?"

The Cail looked up, surprised. After a moment of consideration, he agreed.

So the two began to found some simple swords suited to their hands, soon bringing their magic into the equation because they were too equally matched.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

After about an hour of the ground shifting beneath him and she dodging lightning, they came to a finish, Lantis' sword pressed against her throat.

"I win," he said softly. "You're dead."

"So are you," she returned coolly. That was when he noticed that her sword had slipped through his guard to rest against his artery.

Then his stomach growled and they both laughed and began to head towards the breakfast hall.

"Lantis?" she asked after a few moments.

"Yes?"

"Your brother is Zagato, right?"

"Yes."

"He got the rank of Sol a while ago, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why haven't I seen him anywhere?" Samantha asked. She looked up at him, seeming really confused. "He'd be really invaluable to Clef and the rest. So where is he?" Obviously, no one had informed the girl that Zagato had died a year before.

"He. . . died," Lantis said slowly, trying to figure out how best to say this. Samatha's eyes opened wide in shock and the color drained from her flushed face.

"How?"

"He was. . . protecting Princess Emeraude," Lantis answered. "He knew the Legend and did not want her to die. He was killed by the Magic Knights doing so." Samantha stood stock-still for a moment, trying to take it all in. Then her face crumpled and she began to cry. When she leaned against him, the Cail hugged her, trying to comfort the girl.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Hikaru had just opened her door and was about to step out into the hall when she saw Lantis hugging Samantha. She was shocked. Lantis had said many times he loved _her_, Hikaru. So was he two-timing her?

"Hey!" she shouted, suddenly angry.

The two jerked away from each other to see Hikaru, angry as could be, standing in the hall, less than ten feet away.

**AN:** Well, what d'ya think?


	8. Peace

**AN:** Next chapter!

**Review Replies!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Oh yeah, did she walk in at a bad time. What shall she do to the other girl//cackles evilly/ No, she won't kill Lantis. After all, she loves him, doesn't she? Yes, the Mashin echoing the attacks makes it stronger, but it also puts a bigger strain on the girls. Hey, no such thing as a free lunch, right?

**DayDreamer9:** Yeah, kinda guessed you were kidding. I know. /sighs/ The four of them were actually getting along. She _did_ like Zagato… Is she mad at Hikaru for killing him? Not so much. Remember, she's a Magic Knight, too.

**Disclaimer:** You know what's mine. If it ain't in the manga with a pic of it, it's mine. Don't own the rest, so don't sue.

**Chapter Eight**

**Peace**

The two jerked away from each other to see Hikaru, angry as could be, standing in the hall, less than ten feet away.

"Hikaru…" Lantis began, but Samantha interrupted. Part of the redhead's mind noted that the blonde's eyes were red and there were tear stains on her cheeks.

"What you saw, Pillar, was me snapping," the Magic Knight of Earth said cooly, completely detached and aloof. "I found out some… upsetting things and cracked. Lantis was comforting me. That's all. I love him, but not the way you do. I love him in a different way, the same way I love his brother and all the rest here. I have no intention of stealing your boyfriend." With those words she spun on her heel and headed off, breakfast forgotten. The couple watched her go.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Once she knew no one was around, Samantha broke out in a dead run, calling upon her magic as she tried to outrun her mind and emotions. The young woman felt the familiar tug of the Elemental Forest as her power became once again active and she gave in.

Her feet left the flat and polished tiles of the castle to land upon uneven rocks, dirt, and tree roots. All the same, she kept running, barely aware of her surroundings, knowing that for this moment she was safe. And that was all she needed.

Nine years of never knowing fully what was going on, never being able to tell people everything, always hiding, always fighting, running, and tears. Nine _years_ of pain were finally coming out.

Samantha was not a Magic Knight with cold eyes and a temper right now. She was a scared, exhausted, and grieving girl.

Strange, wasn't it, that she been pulled back into Cephiro in the same state she'd left it? She'd left, begun to slowly heal and get better over the years, and then the anniversary came. All the work she'd put in to seem normal and get on with life as everyone was so constantly telling her… it all came crashing down when she looked at the calendar.

July 21. Kathy's birthday. The day the four of them had been summoned to Cephiro. Also the day they had recieved their magic. The day they had discovered the Legend. When the four had been them utterly destroyed, in more ways than one. The day Samantha had returned home all by herself, covered in blood and dying, to be rushed to the hospital, to live.

That day signified so many things…

Now it represented her second visit to Cephiro.

_Damn,_ she thought when she tripped and slammed into the ground, instantly regaining her feet and continuing her run. _I'm such a self-pitying, pathetic, little bitch. I thought I'd managed to stop drowning in that. Really, why do I keep doing it? There's no point and it's just killing me. _Damn _it! What's the point anymore! Why am I even fighting?_

The answer came to her in form of memories. Shortly after learning the thruth of the Legend—the Guru had decided to tell them everything, unlike what Clef had done—Monica had asked them if they would continue to fight.

They'd all answered an affirimative.

_Why?_ the woman had wanted to know.

Marie was the only one who could put what they were all feeling into words.

_We're alive,_ she'd said. _That's why we fight. We have the abilites to make a difference. We can fight, and are willing to do so. We will continue to fight for this country so long as we live._ Here she'd given her customary half-smile._ If that means taking out an insane pychopath who just so happens to be Pillar and we have to take her out to go home anyway, well…_ She'd let her words trail off, as they all knew what would come next.

_We're alive…_

Would those words haunt her forever?

Those same words from her nightmares, where she witnessed the Battle over and over again, knowing what would happen, seeing it in every detail no matter what she did. Then fading away into blackness and calling for her friends. Strangely, Marie's voice would echo the words, _"We're alive…"_

That was what killed her most of all. _"We're alive…"_ _Alive_? They weren't _alive_, not really. She'd watched as their bodies were destroyed, their power surging around her, refusing to let her come to any more harm. They weren't _alive_, her memories and current power were proof of _that_.

"Why me?" she sobbed as she sped up, welcoming the burning in her legs. She hadn't run this much on such rough terrain in nearly six years. "Why'd you guys do that? Why not _yourselves_? I'm just the weak link, why'd you save _that_? Where's the reasoning? Why'd you have to _die_? Why'd you let her kill you guys? You could've survived, if you tried. Why didn't you? Why'd you give it to me? I can't really use it… What use am I, to you guys or the new batch? I'm useless… How can anyone think I'm something great? I'm not. I'm not…"

Then she tripped again, landing flat on her face. Instead of getting up, she just lay there and cried, repeating the words over and over again as her self-inflicted guilt came back at her to dig her deeper into the pit of depression, again and again. It wasn't like she really cared where she was anyway. She didn't care what happened to herself, either.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Lantis… what…?" Hikaru's voice was uncertain, no longer having much clue as to what was going on.

"What the Knight of Earth said is true," Lantis said softly, not looking at the young woman he had fallen in love with. "She… asked me some questions. I answered them honestly and she began to cry. I felt I was supposed to do something because I had caused her pain, so I hugged her. That's all."

"I believe you," the Pillar said with a huge grin. Then she hugged him tightly. "I guess I was just jealous that you might like someone else."

"Only you," he told her, bending down and kissing her gently on the lips. Hikaru blushed redder than her hair.

"What did she ask?" the Knight of Fire asked, curious as to what could make Samantha cry.

"She asked… about my brother," Lantis sighed. "She wanted to know where he was. I assume she knew him from her first visit and hadn't known of his death."

"Oh… Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I think that depends on how close she was to him," Lantis answered honestly. "And what they're relationship was. If they were casual aquaintances, I don't believe she would have broken like that. If they were close friends, I can understand her reaction. She'll be a long time healing, if that's the case. But if she had a crush on my brother, or really loved him… I believe her pain may rival what I first felt when I felt him die. I can't think of any other relationship she could've had with him to affect her this much."

"Well, it gives us a clue to her mind," Hikaru muttered. "Do you know why she asked that?"

"No idea. I had been sparring with her eariler, though. Maybe she'd been meaning to ask me for some time and finally got around to doing it."

Hikaru agreed with that reasoning, then her stomach growled and the couple burst out laughing.

"Want to go get breakfast?" she asked brightly.

"Of course I do," the Cail replied, laying a kiss on her cheek as the couple headed down the hall, hand in hand.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"My lord, is this really wise?" a young boy asked, kneeling at the feet of his leader, seated on a throne engulfed in shadows. Only a thin and tall outline was visible. No truly distinguing features.

"It is not your place to argue with me!" a commanding voice snapped out.

"Sincerest apologies, my lord," the child whispered, pressing his forehead into the blood-red floor tiles. "It will not happen again."

"It had better not," the man in the shadows warned. "What is your report?"

"One of our old oppositions appears to have returned. The other three Mashin seemed to be now controlled, and not by strong level warriors, at that. The old Earth Warrior seems to be our strongest contender for Cephiro and the Pillar's ear. It has only appeared once to fight, but may be teaching the other three new skills, to help their cause. There was a great difference in the results between the first fight and the second."

"If this is the case, then our entering and attacking the land cannot be taken as invasion. We are still bound to the oath we gave the Pillar. We must destroy the Earth Warrior! Go and alert our troops! We go tonight!"

With a gesture of sevitude, the boy stood and bowed his way out of the room, walking backwards as his master had long ago commanded.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Samantha had finally listened to her growling stomach and returned to the castle for food.

The teenager had gotten cleaned up and was digging into a stew which had a name that Samantha couldn't pronounce when everyone's attention was drawn to shouts and the sounds of pots and pans hitting walls and flesh. Then they all saw a young woman race out into their line of sight, crying, then run off.

"What was that?" Fuu asked. She was the only Knight at the table besides Samantha and the other girl was glad of it. Umi could press questions too hard and complained a lot, and Hikaru was not someone Samantha felt up to dealing with right now.

"Judging by the sounds and picture we just saw," Clef said slowly. "I'd say something happened in the kitchens."

Fuu looked troubled, but went back to her meal, as did Clef. Samantha just stared at the doorway for a few minutes.

Then she got up and left her food on the table, heading for the kitchens.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"What happened in here?" Samantha asked one of the young boys in charge of bringing in crates of vegetables.

"'Ead Cook got mad at Lucy," the boy puffed, wiping his sweaty face with his apron. Then he set down yet another box. "Said Lucy wasn't paying attention to what she was doing an' she couldn't have that sorta attitude in _her_ kitchen, now could she? Luc' said somethin' an' got buncha pots an' pans thrown at 'er. Idiot, she were." Then he nodded to Samantha and left.

_Wonder if it's the same cook?_ Samantha pondered. _It _could_ be, but that's too much to hope for._ Slipping between hurrying bodies, the Knight of Earth heard loud shouts about how they were short now and how were they going to get food ready if everyone was just standing there slack-jawed? They had their jobs, didn't they? Then they could get back to them!

When she was near enough to touch the overweight chef, Samantha stopped. There was something familiar about the woman in front of her, but she didn't want to make the first move and discover she was worng. She'd had enough disappointment recently.

Then the overweight cook turned around and caught sight of Samantha. The girl was expecting to get a scolding for being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. But then something clicked in the older woman's head and Samantha found herself being somthered in a bone-crushing hug.

"You're back, Sammy!" she heard the cook cry joyfully. "Oh, you've grown, little Sammy!"

"Little Sammy needs air, Corrine," Samantha gasped out and immediately the woman let go… for a grand total of ten seconds. Then Samantha was engulfed in another bone-snapping embrace.

Once she could convince Corrine to stop trying to squeeze the air out of her, Samantha was given some work in the kitchen. She got to take the fired girl's place for the day, and recieved a welcome to come by and help at any time.

Immersed in the friendly chatter and atmosphere of kitchen workers, Samantha found a degree of peace. She had something to do, something to focus on, that didn't risk lying or hurting anyone. Nor did helping cut vegetables and cook really bring up her past, except for a few fairly painless questions Corrine asked. Once she'd finished answering Corrine's questions about Earth, she heard the head cook warn that anyone found questioning or annoying Samantha would be hung from their heels from the bottom of the Wind Shrine. Everyone believed her.

**AN:** Yes, that's it. So sorry, but I just defeated writer's block a few days ago and my brain feels ready to shut down again. I'll try to get another up sometime in the next couple weeks. Can anyone guess Samantha's relationship with Zagato?


	9. Secrets

**AN:** SOLs and other tests all suck, as does writer's block. But you're not reading this to hear my whining and complaining, you're here to read Ch. 9! So here it is!

**Review Replies!**

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Well, you'll find out their relationship soon enough. Just be patient.

**DayDreamer9:** Well, she'll be feeling the shame soon enough. Can't believe I left that out in the last chapter, though. Guess it shows how tired I was.

**Mizaki Shidou:** Yes, I do like making her suffer. /shrugs and grimaces/ It's a thing of mine. If I create a character and there is something tragic in their life, I am going to torture for them many years to come. Don't worry, the pain will lessen a bit over the next few chapters. Cephiro is just having a strange effect on her. And I will get them actually fighting _real_ people soon.

Your English was really good. I only one mistake and that was in "…would be more interesting if they where against persons or monsters instead of fighting those battleships." Your "where" should be "were." "Where" means a place. "Were" is the past tense of "will." The fic is continuing and I LOVE your description of Samantha! I've been trying to think up a way to sum her up in a sentence and couldn't do it! Thanks for giving me a GREAT one!

**Disclaimer:** In the manga, it ain't mine. Not in manga, mine.

**Chapter Nine**

**Secrets**

You'd think spending three years in a place would help when you left and came back later, but it wasn't helping Samantha. No, she didn't get lost, but it felt like she was in a time warp or something. The place was the same but almost none of the people were.

In a way she _had_ been placed in a warp.

She'd left and time had gone on.

A few years later, she's back and discovers that much more time had passed for them than for her. Everyone she'd known was much older, all the little kids all grown up. In her mind she could still hear Clef promising, "I'm gonna be really tall and be bigger than Daddy and then he'll let me be the Guru and I'll get to do magic!" The little seven-year-old had been so innocent and cute.

A reminiscent smile played at the corners of the girl's lips as she headed—yet again—toward an empty practice room. She was exhausted and her hands were shaking from being in the kitchen for over five straight hours, but she needed to move before she exploded, and sparring had a point, unlike transporting into the Forest of Silence and running until she couldn't move. She wasn't really sure why she did that in the first place…

With a shrug, the Knight of Earth entered a room in the training wing at random and summoned her sword. Now that it knew her and was not in another's care, it had no need to run her through, for which Samantha was grateful. Plus, this way she didn't have to transform to use the sword, which was good.

Glancing around to make sure no one was in the room, and that the door was shut—Cephiro didn't keep locks on practice room doors—Samantha closed her eyes and began to remember one of her old routines.

As the memories of the exact moves returned faster and faster, Samantha slowly picked up the pace. She knew all too well what could happen if she moved too fast too early for too long. (Did that make sense to anybody?)

Soon, she lost track of time and her surroundings. All that existed for the teenager was her, her sword, and the ground her shoes were touching. Nothing else existed. Until someone butted in…

"Hiya Samantha! I've been looking everywhere for you! I need to talk to you." These sudden words startled Samantha as she was completing a pass which came around… too low. Too late to correct the error, Samantha berated herself when the magicked sword cut deep into her foot and kept going.

Ignoring the pain, the Knight of Earth wiped the blood off the swordtip and onto her jeans before letting go and it vanishing.

"This is just lovely," she grumbled to herself as she sat and examined her self-inflicted wound. Her foot was cut open fairly deep and was gushing blood. As she silently admonished herself for the mistake, she slipped her sneaker and sock off to get a better look at her foot.

Not that wide, but fairly deep and the blood didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. She placed her hands on either end of the wound and focused on it, trying to get the skin to close.

All that happened was that the blood slowed to a trickle.

"Lovely," she muttered. "Cut myself open and can't even do a thing about it."

"Samantha! Are you alright?" Hikaru had witnessed the actions and came over to investigate.

"Would I be holding a bleeding foot, staining the wood, and sitting here on the floor if I was _all right_?" the girl demanded, startled yet again by the Pillar's appearance.

"No…" Hikaru admitted. "I'm sorry about that," she added softly, not looking at Samantha—not that the blonde noticed, her attention mostly on her foot. "And about earlier. I'll go get Fuu. She'll heal you."

The last part Samantha heard, though Hikaru wasn't sure about the apology part. "That'd be good," she admitted absently. "My minor healing powers don't quite do the job."

As Hikaru raced out to find her other blonde friend, Samantha went back to the business of being mad at herself. The last time she'd made such a mistake with a sword was back when she was ten, just learning, and that had been a small scratch on the back of her hand. Nothing as bad as this.

Her self-resentment was interrupted by the arrival of two Magic Knights. Fuu instantly did the healing spell and Samantha didn't have a need to close her eyes this time.

Landing gingerly, she tested her weight on the previously injured foot and was pleased when her knees didn't instantly buckle or anything of that nature.

"Thanks," she said, the word coming awkwardly out of her mouth. She wasn't used to thanking people for things.

"It's all right," Fuu responded instantly. "Well, I'll be going. Umi was teaching me to bake chocolate cake and I have a feeling it's begun to burn." Then she hurried off and Hikaru and Samantha were left alone with an awkward silence.

Samantha pulled off her other footwear as Hikaru hunted around for the words she meant to say.

"Samantha…" The girl in question looked up, confused. "I'm sorry about this morning. I've been feeling really guilty about it. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I was just jealous that Lantis was hugging you and not me. I thought maybe you were trying to get between us."

"Well, I wasn't," Samantha said shortly. "I get what you mean and if you're looking for forgiveness, you've got it." Then she peered closely at the redhead. "That was really hard for you, wasn't it?"

Hikaru nodded, blushing.

"You hungry?"

Startled, Hikaru admitted that she was, wondering what this had to do with anything.

"Come on, I'll see if we can beg something off Corrine for you," Samantha sighed, gesturing for Hikaru to follow with the hand not containing footwear. "But I've got to drop off my stuff first."

So Hikaru followed Samantha to the kitchens, where the blonde shamelessly pleaded for a snack, which she promptly gave to Hikaru and got a whack upside the head for with a rolling pin from Corrine, who muttered that they "could've just asked."

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The leader of the enemy forces sat upon his throne, staring blankly at the information screen in front of him.

It was replaying the recent battle.

He still couldn't believe how quickly they had lost.

One minute, they were winning, wiping out those abominations. The next…

_Damn_ that earth demon!

"Lord Akran," a musical voice called from the doorway.

"Yes?" the man asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard.

"Will you sit there all day?" the woman asked, only her silouette seen due to the back lighting. "Or will you order us to launch an attack? You promised the troops combat tonight."

"I remember," Akran replied, rising slightly from his throne, dismissing the info screen back into one of the chair's many secret compartments. "Tell them to wait a few more minutes. Give our best hand soldiers their boosts. I want to check something, and I need direct hand-to-hand combat to do it."

"Yes, milord," the young woman replied, quickly scurrying off to do her job before a beating bruised her beautiful body, not daring to disagree with her master.

Akran stared at the spot where the information had been a moment before, then quickly left the room and hurried to the bridge of the ship to make sure his orders were carried out, still thinking of ways to make sure that earth demon—the Mashin of Earth—died a slow and painful death so that they could take Cephiro.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Samantha, do you want any dinner?" Umi called, sticking her head in the blonde's room.

"No thanks," Samantha responded in a monotone, staring out the window.

"Geez, is that all you do?" an annoyed Water Knight demanded. She was hungry and the others had told her that unless she could get Samantha to dinner, then Umi wouldn't be getting any dinner either. "Stare out the window or beat us into the ground?"

"Not really." Samantha was still staring out that window.

"Then why won't you come to dinner?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Fuu said you ditched your lunch, and from what Hikaru and Lantis said, you didn't have any breakfast, either."

"That's right."

"How can you _not_ be hungry? You fought with Lantis, ran all over who-knows-where, worked in the kitchen for half the day, and then went off and practiced by yourself."

"I'm just… not hungry." Umi thought she heard a hint of annoyance in the other teen's voice.

"C'mon," she pleaded. "The food's supposed to be _really_ good tonight."

"It is. I helped fix it."

"And you don't want to taste something you made, Samantha?" Umi asked.

"That's right."

"Is there something wrong with it? Did you do something to make it taste bad?"

"No." Now Umi knew for sure that Samantha was getting annoyed. So, in desperation—and a strong desire not to get herself beat up—she played her trump card.

"Hikaru and Fuu won't let me eat anything unless you do. Please come?" That sure got Samantha's attention.

"What?"

"I can't eat dinner unless you do," the bluenette (that's not a word, is it?) repeated.

"Why not?"

"Because we worry about you?" Umi offered.

"Why?" Samantha asked, still not turning from the window. "I'm not related to you. I beat you all up on a daily basis. I haven't been friendly. I haven't been kind. I've gone out of my way to avoid you all."

"We summoned you. We're responsible for you."

"I doubt Matilda or Emeruade ever felt that way," Samantha retorted, anger heating her voice.

"That's what's pissing you off?" Umi asked. "Or is it something else?"

"… Partly," Samantha admitted.

"And how does that affect your appetite?"

"Just go away and get your dinner, Umi," sighed Samantha. "I don't feel like being around people right now."

"Why not? You're almost always staring out the window. Is the view really more interesting than food?"

"Right now, yes." Umi detected a hint of gritted teeth in the Earth Knight's voice.

"Please come eat?" she tried one last time, wanting to get her own meal.

"NO!" Samantha shouted, finally turning around to face the Magic Knight of Water. Umi just stared in shock as she saw the tear streaks on Samantha's face. "Just get out already!" The blonde woman's hand landed on a book. Umi, fearing for her head and knowing it was near certain that the thick volume would come flying at her, quickly left, hurrying down the hall.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

_You can be a prideful fool, did you know?_ Rayearth commented to Samantha.

_Leave me alone,_ she grumbled._ I don't feel like talking._

_Isn't that what you told Umi?_

_It's true,_ she snapped back.

_You're still a prideful fool,_ Rayearth persisted.

_And is there any way I can get that opinion to change?_ Samantha asked, knowing that Rayearth would be very adamant of her being a prideful fool for weeks to come.

_Be kind to the others, don't break any more bones, stop moping, smile more, and go eat,_ Windom responded instantly.

_Gee, you just aim for the impossible, don't you?_ she retorted sarcastically.

_Have you really changed so much that you can't even be kind?_ Pegasus asked softly. He hit a chord deep inside Samantha and the girl grew quiet.

_Sorry,_ she murmured after a few minutes. _I don't mean to be mean, but how can _they_ be _Magic Knights_? You four put us through Hell and back, and it showed. The worst thing that ever happen to_ them_ was finding out the truth about the Legend._

_And completing it,_ Selece reminded her.

_Okay, fine,_ Samantha sighed, knowing how much fulfilling the Legend had hurt her, and that she would carry those scars to her dying day. _I'll ease up on them,_ she agreed._ Stop being so hard on them. I'll try to be nicer too._

_And to stop moping?_ Rayearth pressed.

_Yes,_ she sighed._ But I'll need help with that._

She grumbled to herself as the Mashin cheered—very unlike them. Once they stopped, she left the room, heading for the dining hall. If she was going to go back to her old self, she might as well get started.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

"Not fair!" Umi protested. "She said 'no' and she was going to hit me with that book!" Fuu was blocking the taller girl's way to food.

"You agreed to the terms, Umi," Fuu stated. "You didn't get Samantha down here, so you don't get dinner."

"Actually, I'm right here," a voice said from behind the bespectacled girl. "So move and let Umi get some food."

"Samantha!" called Umi joyfully. The relief, amazingly obvious, in the taller girl's voice made a thin smile cross the Knight of Earth's lips.

"Yes, Fuu?" she asked, seeing Fuu's confused gaze focusing on her.

"Samantha, this is the only entrance. How did you get in?"

"The kitchen," she answered promptly. "There's a second entrance through there." Then she spun on her heel and headed back to the food, Umi and Fuu following.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

The newer Knights were surprised about Samantha's sudden change of mood and, seemingly, personality. She actually looked almost happy and talked to people without them asking her questions.

Then something happened.

"Samantha," Clef asked. "Will you tell us about the group of Knights you were involved in? We need the information."

"You make it sound like something dirty," the Knight of Earth commented, her voice as icy as her eyes. "And don't you still keep records? Just use those."

"We've lost them," Clef admitted. "Records are written down, and also placed on disks, which have visuals and are placed at certain places all around the country."

"And you just _lost_ three years worth of records?" she asked skeptically.

"Unfortunately," Clef sighed. Even the newer Knights were unsure about this.

"How?" Fuu asked.

"We don't know," the Master Mage admitted. "We have all the records chroniclized by year, but when I went to look for the records a few days ago, they weren't there."

"So you want me to give a verbal account, with everybody here?" Samantha wanted to know. Clef nodded.

"No. Won't do it," she stated flatly. "Forget it. Keep looking." In some ways the other Knights were relieved. This was the Samantha they had come to know and love. Finally, someone they were familiar with!

Clef tried a few more times, with the same result. Finally, he left, heading back to his own dinner.

"What's in those records?" Hikaru couldn't help asking.

"More or less my life," Samantha responded flatly before getting up and taking her dishes away. "I got to go. See you later."

"Any ideas?" Umi asked as they watche the teen's retreating back.

"None," Fuu sighed. "But if we want to understand her, we need to see those records somehow."

"How are we going to do that?" Hikaru wanted to know. "Clef lost the records and Samantha doesn't want to speak."

"Maybe… we could ask her in private," Fuu said slowly. "She might tell us."

"More likely she'll bite our heads off," Umi retorted. "You know she doesn't want to tell us."

"Still…" Hikaru said slowly. "She might be more willing if it's just us and no one else. After all, we _do_ need to know what she's been through."

They agreed to ask Samantha about her history the next day, when she'd calmed down. Then they finished their meal and headed back to their room to talk some more.

The three Knights got there to find a note and small package. The note read:

_Guys, you were asking about these. The records you seem to so badly want are in the package. They'll play my history and you'd better be satisfied. I wasn't going to show these records to anybody, but you really do need to know me. Go hunt down Corrine and she'll give you a player, a private room to watch these in, and she'll get it turned on for you. Trust me, you won't be able to figure it out yourself. Corrine's slightly overweight with greying-blonde hair. She's head cook, and the one who gave me these records. She doesn't believe that the Battles should be recorded move for move. Some sick person could just watch people's agony over and over for his own pleasure._

_Don't expect me to watch these with you._

There was no signature, but they didn't need one. They knew it couldn't be anyone but Samantha.

Leaving the room with package in hands, the threesome headed back to the kitchen, hunting down Corrine as the note told them to do.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Hours later they understood perfectly why Samantha would not mention her past.

Her Battle was worse than theirs.

At least they didn't have to watch their twin and best friends be turned to dust.

"How could she stand coming back here?" Umi whispered, breaking the long silence once the last disk stopped playing. "How could she stand any of this?"

"And fighting the same enemy again?" Fuu added. "I don't think we could do that."

"Metilda was insane," Corrine said from the doorway. "She employed strange species and made deals with them to destroy those who might appose her. That's how she got rid of quite a few of us older folks. Sammy understands that somehow, Metilda's deal is not yet complete. She deals with things like this simply because she has no other choice. Insanity is not an option for that girl."

"Were you here this whole time?" Hikaru asked.

"No," the cook responded. I just got a few minutes ago. You just didn't notice me."

"Well, this certainly explains how she teaches us to fight," Umi said.

"Are you lot done yet?" Samantha demanded crossly, sticking her head in the doorway. "I need to put those away before Clef figures out that they're here. I'd rather him not watch. If he so badly wants to know, he can ask his father."

"We're done," Fuu said.

"And we'll never make stupid or mean comments about your first trip here ever again," Hikaru added.

"Well, guess that's a bonus then," the Earth Knight commented, taking the disks out of the player and putting them in a pocket. "I just wanted the questions to stop."

"How could you not go crazy coming back here again after all that?" Umi demanded.

"Even though, over all, my visit sucked," Samantha explained. "There were some good parts. I just keep focusing on that."

Then she walked out, in some ways as much a mystery as she'd been before the viewing.

**AN:** Here's Chapter Nine. Don't kill me for not updating in forever. I've really been working hard on this. Anybody know the suffixes and honorifics they used in the Japanese version? And will you tell me who used which? I need them for this other fic I'm doing.


	10. Reminiscing

**Review Replies!**  
**DayDreamer9:** Well, it's summer, so things are getting better for everyone, including Sammy.

**AthrunZallaLover:** I've updated, I've updated! 'Onegai' means 'please,' right? Glad to see a new reviewer. Keep it up, okay?

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Stop being so impatient/glares/ You'll find out eventually. Seesh. Thanks for the compliment. That's the nicest thing I've heard in a long time.

**Disclaimer:** In the manga, it ain't mine. Not in manga, mine.

**Chapter Ten**  
**Reminiscing**

Samantha continued heading down the hall with the disks in her hand as the three stared after her, marveling at her kept sanity.

"I can't believe I did that," she muttered, glancing at the midnight sky. "I told Umi at the beginning that it was none of her business. Why'd I change that?"

_This world is getting to you,_ a voice said.

"It's done that from the beginning," the blonde responded. "Why don't you come out, Chloe? I'm not going to panic."

_That is not the point,_ the voice continued, still in the shadows. _You are reverting back to your old self._

"Pegasus said that was a good thing," Samantha reminded Chloe.

_Old _personality_ is good,_ the bodiless voice scolded. _Old _reactions_ are not._

"Thanks for the reminder," grumbled Samantha with a wince. "But will you come out now? You know I don't talk to ghosts unless they're dead."

_I'll appreciate you not calling me a ghost,_ the voice scolded as it stepped out of the shadows to reveal a beautiful woman, red hair spilling down her back, green eyes blazing in her anger. _Samantha, you can _not_ have your old personality back without suffering repercussions. That means you risk reopening old wounds every moment unless you get it through your skull. _You must change your reactions._ Give yourself a few hours or so to accept that you need to react to _them_ and not your friends._

"Chloe, at least I'm trying, okay?" sighed Samantha. "Besides, you know I can't revert back all the way. I'm not that innocent anymore."

_No, you're not,_ Chloe conceded._ But I worry all the same. You are the strangest Knight I've _ever_ known._

"What? There was no one odd in your group?" Samantha asked absently, gazing up at the night sky through the huge windows. Something was off and it was only making her edgy.

_I _was_ the odd one,_ explained the woman._ And no one since me has been as strange._

"Really? You've never seemed that odd to me," the blonde replied in surprise.

_That's because of your own personality,_ Chloe explained. _You have a greater ability to take in things and are less likely to name things you are not used to as 'odd.' You merely think of them as different from what is typically around you._

"I'm never going to stop being your student, am I?" the Knight of Earth wanted to know.

_Not unless you take my place,_ retorted her teacher.

"Then why aren't my friends the other Guardians?" Samantha fired back. "You and the others have always said that you become the Element Guardian if you die attempting to fulfill the Pillar's wish. We definitely did that. So why?" All of Samantha's bitterness and survivor guilt had come back.

_They didn't completely die._

"WHAT!" Samantha shrieked. "How can you say they aren't dead!"

_I never said that, _Chloe corrected calmly._ They merely did not _completely_ die. They no longer have bodies, nor are they ghosts wandering around. Part of their spirits rest inside you, Samantha. I could not figure out why my connection to you changed after your Battle, but I understand now that you have returned._

"What… do you mean?" the girl asked, all anger, bitterness, and despair draining out of her.

_Do you remember the end of the Battle?_

"Yes…" Samantha said slowly, closing her eyes as the Battle replayed itself in her head as fresh as though it had just happened.

_And how they gave you protection?_ Chloe asked.

"It's the only reason I'm still alive," the girl replied.

_What exactly happened then?_

"We were more or less lined up, me and Kathy in the back, Sam and Marie sort of in front of us. I was hurt the worst: my left ankle was broken, as well as my right arm. I probably had a concussion too. Matilda was going crazy, but we couldn't dodge anymore, simply because we were so tired. Plus, I couldn't even stand up anymore. Pegasus was taking over more and more as I became less able to focus.

"Finally, Matilda noticed us again. Marie was helping me stand and Sam was making sure I didn't have anything else broken. He also numbed the pain and gave me a partial healing so I could move if I had to, though it wouldn't be very far. Matilda used her 'Death's Awakening' and I wasn't quite standing, so I couldn't get out of the way. Marie could've dodged it if she wasn't supporting me.

"But they refused to leave me. Maybe the attack was just coming too fast, I don't know. Everything just sort of slowed down for me. I saw the black, vile _thing_ get closer and Sam and Kathy moved closer together in front of me.

"The three of them started glowing, and I ended up being shielded by a wall of fire, wind, and water. I don't understand why Marie's torso and arms weren't in it, since she was still holding me up. Then I felt the attack hit, and the air was screaming again, and everything hurt so much… The wall got pushed back so it was practically a second skin on me, and then… it failed.

"I felt it starting to fail and I got mad. I didn't want to believe that Sam and Marie and Kathy weren't okay, even though I knew the truth. I used the shield as it got overwhelmed as a variation of our 'Element Strike.' The shield's power tore up the ground as it raced toward Matilda. I'm pretty sure it killed her, because I heard her screaming, louder and higher than she ever had before. But I'm not sure, since her attack overwhelmed me and I passed out." She had stated all of this calmly and quietly, almost without emotion. Now she opened her eyes and looked up at her mentor. "I didn't wake up for months. When I did, I was in a hospital."

_They were dead before the shield failed, weren't they?_

"I… yes…" Samantha said slowly, just barely audible. "Our links just cut off, but the wall was still there, so I figured…"

_I know perfectly well what you figured,_ Chloe replied gently, coming over and wrapping her arms around her student.

"Some part of me already knew they were dead," she mumbled into the Earth Guardian's tunic. "That's why I used the magic like that. If they were alive, nothing much short of being skinned alive would hurt so badly. But why was their power still there? It should have faded when they died."

_That's what is confusing so many of us,_ Chloe replied softly, stroking the girl's hair as a few tears fell from Samantha's eyes._ What I figure is that they didn't only give you their remaining power, but part of their souls as well. That would explain everything: how the power still existed; why you were unconscious for so long; and why you've been feeling slightly off ever since you got here, and on each anniversary._

"That feels right," the teenager mumbled. "That's it." Then the two lapsed into silence, Chloe providing silent comfort to her charge.

**²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²**

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu left the cook's recreation room to see some woman holding Samantha, who looked as though she were crying. The girls stood there staring silently.

_Hello,_ a voice echoed in their minds.

"Who are you?" they asked aloud, correctly assuming it was the voice of the woman in front of them.

_One of the four Guardians,_ the woman replied.

"That explains squat," Umi said flatly.

_You remember when you first arrived at the Shrines?_ the woman asked, still stroking her charge's hair.

"Yes…" the girls answered slowly, totally confused.

And you remember that the Knight whose element the Shrine was acted strange and spoke with a voice not their own?

"Yes…" the girls all said.

"Are the Guardians the things that possessed us?" Hikaru asked.

_We are not 'things,' thank you very much,_ the Guardian snapped primly.

"Chloe…" Samantha mumbled, sounding as though she had just been woken up.

_Yes?_

"They're coming… and I think Akran's still leading them," the girl whispered, pulling away from the Guardian and wiping her eyes with a yawn.

"So were you sleeping?" Fuu asked.

"I guess," muttered Samantha. "Or did you do something?" she demanded, looking at the spirit.

_Now, what in the world could I have done to you?_

"Ugh," grumbled the Knight of Earth. "I'm not going to be able to function for the next hour."

"Why not?" Umi demanded.

"My body hates enchanted sleeps," the girl explained. "Once I fall asleep, it takes a while to get rid of the aftereffects. However, my body also fights against going into one, even though I typically lose."

"Who's Akran?" Hikaru wanted to know.

"You know how there have to be people running those ships?" Samantha asked. The redhead nodded. "He's the leader of all of them."

"How do you know he is coming?" Fuu inquired politely.

Samantha gave a shrug. "Dunno. I can just tell when he's coming." Then she looked behind her out the window. "Kuso," she hissed. "_Why_ are the big ones always at night?"

_People would be looking for you during the day,_ Chloe explained._ At night, no one is likely to notice if you aren't around._

"It was rhetorical, you know," her charge replied. "We'd better get outside so they don't wake anybody up, since they'll ripping down castle walls to find us," she suggested to the others.

The four girls summoned their swords and bonded with their Mashin, reappearing over a forest just as the tenscore ships became visible in the midnight sky to the naked eye.

**AN:** I apologize for this taking so long (and being so short) but I've just been so busy… Downside to having a large family, a stupid computer, and Writer's Block.


	11. Battle Aftermaths

**AN:** GOMEN NASAI! I didn't _mean_ to ditch this thing for three months! Seriously! But I had band camp, and school, and EVIL teachers who don't believe in free time, and life decided to strangle me, and… yeah. If you can't remember what happened last chapter (not that I blame you if you can't) then I suggest you go read it. Otherwise, you'll get yourself very, very, _very_ lost.

**Review Replies!**  
**Dragon and Sword Master:** /sighs and pats DaS Master's head/ Don't be upset about being impatient. I _want_ you to be impatient. That means you nag me, which means I push back something in my schedule to work on this, which means the next chapter appears sooner… Usually. Sometimes it means I burn out before I can post the chapter, which means the finished (or at least _started_) chapter will be sitting in my computer, praying a virus won't come along and eat it.

**DayDreamer9:** Yes, Matilda's a bitch. /grins/ Ask your muses to stop hitting you for pointing out important facts. Don't worry. I hate the woman, too. Sorry I didn't comply for the 'quick update' order. Gomen _nasai_! Is the content enough to make up for the wait?

**Disclaimer:** I own the following creatures/things: Chloe, Pegasus, Samantha, Sam, Kathy, Marie, Matilda, Corrine, John, and the enemy. If it's not on the list, it's CLAMP's.

**Chapter Eleven  
****Battle Aftermath**

Umi grumbled to herself as she wandered the halls of the castle.

"Just because I got a couple of bruises doesn't mean that I can't mix a bowl of ingredients," she muttered. The blue-haired girl had tried to go to the kitchen and see if she could help there. Corrine, lovely and caring woman that she was, had forbidden it on the grounds that Umi was tired and had been injured. Arguing didn't help her case much.

"Fuu's researching some new potions," the Water Knight muttered to herself. "And Hikaru and Lantis are with Eagle. I can't interrupt _them_. Clef isn't much of a sword fighter, and Ascot…" The woman sighed. She felt so _odd_ around the boy-turned-man. "I doubt he's ever touched a sword in his life." Silently, she went through the rest of the people she knew, checking each off as unable to spar with her. Finally, she came to the final person upon her mental list. "And Lafarga can be so _creepy_. Besides, he sucks at holding back for a weaker opponent."

Umi was itching for something to do, whether it was mind numbing or require all of her attention. But she wasn't willing to do anything that would let her mind drift. If that happened, her mind would latch onto the memory of Samantha's horrible scream… and the fact that the blonde was slowly dying. The injuries she had sustained from the battle had put her body into deep shock, and pushed past her limits, both magical and mental. The girl was so badly harmed that to have Fuu use "Healing Wind" on her would be as lethal as a knife through her heart—and probably quicker.

"_Damnit!_" she shouted, slamming her fist into the wall. "Why can't we _do_ anything?"

_You are doing something,_ an unfamiliar, yet disconcertingly familiar, voice answered in her mind. _Waiting._

"Do I know you?" Umi questioned cautiously, getting her fears and anger under control.

_You could say that,_ the voice replied. _I temporarily borrowed your body at the Shrine of the Sea._

"So you're another one of the Guardians?" the Water Knight asked. "You used to be a Magic Knight?"

_Aye._

"What's your name?"

The silence was so long that Umi began to wonder if she had offended the Water Guardian.

_My… name?_ the voice finally asked confusedly.

"What you were called before you became Guardian," Umi explained, wanting to end the contact and never speak to this odd voice again. Except that if she did that, she'd just get angry again and probably create plenty of water cyclones and tsumanis.

_It was… John, I believe,_ the voice replied after a long time. _I have been a Guardian for so long… Occasionally it is hard to remember I was once a Knight and human._

"Chloe doesn't seem to have any problems with it," Umi remarked in what she hoped was an offhand voice.

_Well, Chloe is… Chloe,_ John replied. _She has always been a rule unto herself._

"So was Chloe on your team?"

_Aye, that she was,_ John said softly, a hint of a smile in his voice. _I've always debated if we would have survived better or at all without her_.

_When you remembered your humanity,_ Chloe retorted, entering the conversation. _The rest of the time, I was just the annoying Land Guardian who was strange beyond all reason._

_Well, you_ are _weird,_ John protested.

Umi stopped listening, instead deciding she would go look in on Samantha. She had been in the same room, unconscious, for almost a week now. Maybe the blonde would finally wake up.

* * *

"Eagle?" a redhead asked.

_Yes, Hikaru?_ the comatose pilot replied, still unconscious.

"When I first got here, you said it would be only a few more days before you could open your eyes. It's been weeks, and you still haven't. Why is that?"

_I've been so tired… and I'd prefer to open my eyes when my friends are with me. Lantis says you've been busy these past weeks. Are you alright?_

"Hai," Hikaru replied, blushing slightly. "We've got a new resident here in Cephiro. Her name's Samantha. Apparently, she was a Knight a long time ago, and is helping us with that new enemy that's been attacking."

_So attacking ships are the reason for those explosions and the rocking of the castle that's been going on for the past few months?_ Eagle asked.

"Didn't you know?" Hikaru asked, too astonished to see Lantis shaking his head at her, trying to silence her.

_No,_ the blond man replied._ Lantis decided to keep quiet. I was wondering why his reports kept being so vague._

The redheaded Pillar then proceeded to tell—in detail—everything that had happened since she had discovered that they were being attacked and the pitiful first defense attempt.

* * *

Pain.

The world existed of pain.

_She_ existed of pain.

_Why does it hurt so much?_ she wondered for a moment before another wave of agony swept over her, pulling her under. Then she stopped thinking about the 'why's and more about how to keep it from _hurting_ so badly.

Reaching for the shattering edges of her magic and mind, she began the long and painful process of slowlypulling them tightly to her core, so there would be less weak spots to be destroyed by the agony. Once every piece was wrapped around her core, she could focus on putting them back together, like the pieces of a scattered puzzle that they were.

And maybe, just maybe, she would get out of the hellholealive and in one piece.

* * *

**AN:** Okay, not long. _So_ sorry. Well, give you any info? Questions? Feel free to tell me. That includes ideas for future chapters… and if you also happen to be reading my "Only Fools Run" fic. _Especially_ if you are. 


	12. Rebirth

**Disclaimer:** Whoever said I owned anyone but Samantha, her Knight group, Matilida, Corrine, Monica (from early chapters), Rondo, and the Guardians? Certainly not me. So suing is completely useless, I'm afraid.

**Warning:** If you can't deal with curses, I'm amazed you actually made it this far. But, if you, for some insane reason, have, go and turn around here. Click that little back button because Samantha's a bit of a pottymouth here… when she talks.

**Chapter Twelve**  
**Rebirth**

Umi had been sitting by the Earth Knight's bedside for over an hour before she heard something that made her question her own senses.

"_Umi? You're here? With me?"_

The voice was so soft, barely a whisper, that the blue-haired woman unsure if it was not merely her mind and heart working together to make her believe that Samantha had spoken.

A few more minutes passed without Samantha twitching, moving, speaking, or opening her eyes, and Umi finally had to squash her hope that the young woman was awakening.

"She's comatose," the Water Knight muttered to herself, shaking her head to clear it of troubling thoughts. "Samantha isn't aware of anything."

How wrong she was.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

_"Sam! Sam! Wake _up_ already!"_ She could hear a young girl's voice calling out. _"C'mon already! Mom said we could stay by ourselves if we're good this morning!"_

_"Okay! Okay!"_ she heard a nearly identical voice call out. Images were beginning to form in front of her and she watched, keeping a hold on what she magic and mind pieces in her possession.

_Three girls and one boy were falling through the sky, screaming. The boy and the girl identical to him_—how did she know one was a girl, anyway? Their hair was short for a girl, but a bit long for a boy, and the two were identical down to their clothes—_reached out and grabbed each other's hands. They seemed slightly calmer now that they had someone to hold onto. But the other children—a raven-haired girl and a brunette—were still screaming at the top of their lungs, completely terrified._

She wanted to reach out to them, but knew instinctively that this was a vision of the past, most likely one of her memories. _Are they my memories? Was I one of them? Or was I somewhere else and watching?_

_Here's your memory, Mistress,_ the little eager voices of the soil and rock spirits told her, capturing the vision and pressing it towards her core so that she could grasp it. _We'll find your pieces, Mistress. Don't you worry. We'll help you. You'll see. You'll see, Mistress._

_Thank you,_ she whispered, grasping the proffered vision and holding it close, stashing it with memories rather than senses around her core.

The spirits of the land raced out, stretching themselves as far and as thin as they could, searching for the bits and pieces that felt like their wonderful mistress and returning them to her.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Hikaru bit back a curse as she stumbled and landed flat on her face.

"It's proof I'm distracted," she sighed as she got up and rubbed her abused nose. "I'm tripping over my own feet. I'll go see what Fuu's doing. That ought to keep me out of trouble." With this decision made, the redhead began to head toward the wing of the castle containing practice rooms. Fuu had mentioned at breakfast about going there to practice with her sword.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Indeed, Fuu _was_ in a practice room.

But she was not practicing.

She had given it up as a lost cause a little while before. There was little point in practicing combat dances if no one was around to correct her mistakes.

So now she was sitting on the floor, staring out at Cephiro.

The land was truly beautiful now, and all knew it was because of the people of Cephiro rather than the Pillar. To most of the inhabitants of the country, there _was_ no Pillar.

Suddenly, a small, brown bird burst out of the forest, being chased by crows. Fuu followed the fleeing bird with her eyes until it and its mob were out of sight.

"Guess it shows how far the creatures here will protect their territory," she murmured to herself.

She soon found herself thinking how alike Samantha and the creatures were. _Samantha does everything she can to protect Cephiro. And most of it she does on her own. Maybe just one crow found that bird first and did everything on its own to get it to leave. When the brown bird didn't, the crow got help. That's a bit like us. We did what we could on our own—which we did badly. Then we summoned Samantha for help. _

Thoughts such as these were running through her head when Hikaru showed up.

"What'cha doin'?"

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Umi quickly got bored wandering the halls in an attempt to find Fuu. Deciding after a half hour of getting lost and never finding the blonde that she wasn't getting anywhere, the blue-haired woman turned around and made her way back to the main hallway. From there, she headed out of the practice wing and back towards Samantha's room.

Maybe talking to the comatose girl would help get her thought in order.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Chloe, from her resting place within both the Mashins' dimension and the Shrine of the Land, smiled, feeling her Knight's scattered mind and power gathering much quicker toward one spot, where Samantha's core had been flung at the end of her battle. Looked like Cephiro was going to be a bit odd for the next few days, plants growing far faster than they should and animals turning to find their Mistress.

Samantha would soon awaken, and with her, Cephiro itself.

The latter bit was something Chloe would try to prevent or slow down, though she had precious little power with which to do so. Cephiro was just far too powerful and uncaring.

If truly threatened, Cephiro would use Samantha as a way to stop whatever was threatening it and wouldn't care what happened to the vessel once Cephiro itself was safe.

Chloe had no desire to let Samantha be controlled by Cephiro again, not after what happened last time and the knowledge that this time would be far worse.

This time, Samantha would die.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

"Samantha," Umi sighed. "You need to wake up. We need you. We _miss_ you. You can't just beat us up and then _leave_ us! Damnit!" The bluenette kicked the bedpost in her anger and curses came spewing out her mouth as the pain and stupidity of her actions set in.

Limping, the high-schooler began to head for the door with thoughts of getting ice and making sure nothing was badly damaged.

But then, a soft sound from the bed made her turn around.

Samantha's hand was moving!

Pain instantly forgotten, Umi raced down the hallway to find her friends and tell them the good news.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Brown eyes slowly opened into the semi-darkness of twilight and confusion and fear showed in their depths.

_Let's see what moves,_ Samantha thought to herself a moment later, once she knew she had returned safely to her body and not left and memories or magic out and scattered around Cephiro. For some reason she couldn't quite remember, the thought of that happening terrified her and she _knew_ it wasn't just due to not having part of her memory or magic.

Then all thought vanished from her mind as she tried to move her arm and pain nearly overwhelmed her.

_It's broken,_ she thought to herself. _Damn!_

Forcing herself to ignore the pain, the girl retreated into her mind and began making sure that all her memories and knowledge were in _just_ the right place until it faded. Then she moved on to her magic.

_It's a wreck!_ she thought with no little degree of shock. Usually, she kept her power tightly wrapped around her core, like a spool of thread. Now, the threads had all come unwound and streamed through her blood with absolutely _no_ control! It was almost as though she had just received her magic from Rondo all over again! _This is going to take_ forever _to fix!_ Actually, she knew it would probably only take five or six hours… if she wasn't interrupted. But the likelihood of actually being undisturbed for so long… Never mind, it just might _really_ take forever.

Closing herself off to any and all outer influences—hunger, sleep, and people included—the teenager let herself slip into mediation, oh so slowly forcing her magic back where it belonged.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

"She really _was_ waking up!" Umi found herself protesting to Hikaru and Fuu. "Her hand moved and she made a noise!"

"We would love to believe you," Fuu sighed. "But the point is, she's not moving _now_."

_She _was_ awake,_ Chloe told them mildly._ Right now, though, she's taking care of some things so they can't backfire right now._

"Like what?" Hikaru asked, curious.

_Like making sure her magic is where it belongs,_ came the reply.

"Can we wake her up?" the redhead asked next. "I mean, she'll wake up soon anyway, right?"

_Do not touch her unless you want to be pulled into her core, Magic Knight of Fire,_ Selece warned._ That would not be a good thing, either for you or her. That goes for all of you._

"Alright," she agreed, confused at the sharp tone coming from the Mashin of Water.

_It's for your own safety,_ Chloe sighed._ Her barriers are up against incoming magic, but little else. Even once she wakes up, touching her will not be a good idea. She will be extremely weak and unable to maintain her barriers. It would be like punching someone where they have an extremely bad sunburn._

Umi winced. She'd had one once and nearly killed the little neighbor boy when he jumped from the garden wall onto her back, grabbing her lobster-red shoulders. It had been over a week before she could stand to have _anything_ touch those burned shoulders. Thank goodness it had been in the middle of summer vacation!

"Should we leave?" Fuu asked. "Or is it alright for us to stay? And how long will it be before she returns to us?"

_Quite a while,_ Chloe answered. _But you can stay if you wish. Just don't touch her or be particularly loud when she's waking up. That will just send her back inside herself._

"We can do that," Hikaru assured the Guardian, back to her cheerful self now that they knew Samantha was healing.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Four hours later, they were just considering going back to their room to sleep when they saw her hand twitch.

"Think she's waking up?" Umi asked.

Something between a whimper and a groan from Samantha confirmed her suspicions.

It was so hard for them to say in their chairs and not rush over to the Earth Knight, but somehow, someway, they managed it.

"Fuck," they heard her whisper as her eyes opened.

A moment later, she turned her head to look at them. "You haven't turned to statues, have you? You _can _come over here; just don't touch me."

They obeyed, babbling questions.

"Are you all right now?"

"What happened to you?"

"Can you get up?"

Samantha answered Fuu's question first. "No, I'm _not_ all right. I know my arm's broken and that landing probably broke a bunch of other bones too. I happen to not be a machinist and have no intentions of trying to get up and find out."

"Can you take a healing spell?" came the next question.

"If you'll give it," was the instant answer.

"Healing Wind," Fuu whispered, her hand not quite touching the other blonde's broken arm.

Hikaru and Umi scrambled backwards as the wind picked up strength and threads of yellowish-green.

"Damn, she's worse off than you were after Alcoine," Hikaru gasped to Umi as the magic engulfed Samantha, covering every square inch of her body. A moment later, it released her and lay the girl back down on the bed.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"You okay?" Umi asked. "You don't sound very good."

"I need a bath, food, and sleep," Samantha answered. "Right now, even though I'm physically healed, I don't have any strength. Good night."

Umi scowled at the girl as her eyes slipped shut and she slipped into peaceful oblivion.

"Let's go, Umi," Fuu said softly, tugging on the girl's arm. "We need rest ourselves."

With a sigh, Umi followed the other two out and towards their own bed.

"I wish she'd at least told us _something_ of what happened."

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

**AN:** That be the end of the chapter. Am I forgiven for taking so long? Leave me a review and tell me what you think, okay? Thanks!


	13. Friendship

**AN:** I'm BACK!! Didja miss me?

**Disclaimer:** All the usual junk, blah, blah, blah. I own only, Akran and his group (now named the Myra—Yay, I finally named them!), the past Knights, their Pillar, Guardians, Pegasus, and Corrine. CLAMP, don't kill me.

**Chapter Thirteen**  
**Friendship**

Fuu muttered to herself as she groped around in the dark for her shoes and glasses. It was nearing dawn, easily past four o'clock, and she _still_ couldn't fall asleep! Lying awake in bed next to Hikaru, staring at the ceiling for hours had gotten boring and now she felt antsy in addition to exhausted. "Damn," the ever-so-proper girl hissed as her toes rammed into the bedside table when she swung her legs off the bed.

Quickly getting dressed, the blonde silently snuck out of the room and began wandering around the castle. Soon, she got bored and leaned against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the movements of the nocturnal Cephiro. "What's wrong with me?" she sighed. "I was tired earlier, practically falling asleep on my feet. Why did that have to leave when I lay down?"

"Are you worried about something?" a male asked as his arms wrapped around the Knight of Wind. "You don't look like you've slept."

"Hello to you, too, Ferio," Fuu laughed. "But yes, I _am_ worried about Samantha. Yes, I healed her. Yes, it took a lot out of me. Yes, she was almost dead, even though she was awake and talking. But I don't think she's all right now, either. I think something is still wrong. But I'm not sure if it is something I can fix. And no, I haven't slept tonight."

"Well, then why are you dwelling on it?" the Prince asked, leading his girlfriend down the hall. "If you can do nothing, there is no point in making yourself sick by worrying over it. Come on. I'll get Clef to make you a potion so you can sleep."

"It's almost dawn," she pointed out. "There isn't a point in my going back to bed."

"Yes, there is," he argued. "You need your rest and you need to be able to focus, neither of which you will be able to do, I might add, if you don't sleep. Clef!" he called as they entered the Guru's study where Clef was reading an old tome.

"Yes?" he asked, looking with concern at Fuu. "What is it? Are you all right?"

"She's been up all night," her boyfriend answered for her. "I told her you'd make her a potion to help her sleep."

"Yes, I can do that," Clef sighed. "But make sure you drink the whole thing, understood? You can't just drink part of it and leave the rest."

"I understand," the blonde answered. "And I'll do it."

"Good," the magician answered, nodding more to himself than the couple in front of him. He gathered a few vials of… something… and a goblet. Then he muttered something and his staff transformed the vials of unidentifiable liquids into one, steaming, red one inside the goblet. "Make sure you are sitting on the bed when you drink this," he cautioned as he handed her the glass. "We don't want you falling over and sleeping on the floor with us unable to wake you."

"Is it really that potent?" she wondered.

"Yes," came the answer. "For the first half hour or so, no one will be able to awaken you. Then your sleep will become more natural, although it will be hard to awaken before your body is well rested."

"I understand. Thank you, Clef." With that, she impulsively hugged the Master Mage and led her boyfriend out of the study.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

"Are you sure you're all right?" Ferio asked her as they stopped at her bedroom door. "I mean, you don't usually hug Clef… or anyone else, for that matter."

She laughed and embraced him in response. "I hug you, don't I? Really, I'm fine. Just a bit delirious from lack of sleep. Now go back to _your_ bed so I can get to mine."

"Until next time, fair princess," he promised, giving a sweeping bow and kissing the back of her hand. Even though she grinned at him, her face was bright red, which made him grin. "Good night."

With those words, he left her presence and she headed back inside, noting that Umi and Hikaru were still fast asleep in the bed. Setting the goblet down on the bedside table, she quickly changed back into her nightgown.

"Well, here goes nothing," she sighed as she sat on the bed and raised the chalice to her lips.

The goblet was raised, her head thrown back, and every last drop of the liquid descended into her mouth just before the glass slipped from her hand and she fell into slumber.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Her dreams were haunted and blurry from fog.

_Who was that boy? He kept appearing and vanishing, never quite clear enough to make out. A flash of golden hair here, a shadow there. But she was chasing him, needing to catch him… but why? What was so important?_

"_Who are you?" she called. " What do you want?"_

_The fog was gone for just an instant and she could see him, clothes like Samantha's from the Mashin's dimension, only all shades of green. His hair was blond and he was beckoning her forward. But she couldn't see his face, though he faced her._

"_Wait!" she called, running towards him. In response, he began running again and she was back to flashes, occasional shadows of him._

_Suddenly, she stopped, having finally caught up with him._

"_This is what I wanted to show you," he whispered, pointing out to the scenery laid out from where they stood on the cliff's edge as the fog rolled to the sides, clearing the view for her. "Look."_

_She obeyed, trying to figure out why his voice felt so familiar and why she couldn't place it. As soon as her eyes focused on what they were seeing, however, all thoughts of making connections left her mind._

_Before her lay a world which took her breath away. It reminded her of Cephiro in all the stages she's seen it and yet none of them. The land was lush and green, but there were deserts and places in the forests looked as though a flaming meteor had landed there, leaving only a blackened hole in the ground. The Shrine of Fire was visible, easily the highest volcano in sight, though there were others. The Shrine of the Wind was also visible, being a collection of floating rocks and a hollow mountain. There was another castle, too, though much smaller and surrounded by forest._

"_This… This is Cephiro?" she finally managed to ask when she could breath again._

"_At one time," the boy agreed. "Long, long ago, to some. Not so long ago to others."_

"_Are you a Magic Knight?" she asked impulsively, though her eyes remained on the scene before her. "Which element?"_

"_I believe all four are taken at the moment," he answered, not really answering her question. She let it drop, her attention taken by the swiftly changing scenery. Now she was looking at a forest, or, more specifically, at four children in the forest. Their faces were unclear, and, though they were speaking, she heard no sound._

"_What is this?" she asked._

"_None of your business," the boy answered. "Except when it comes to the Magic Knight of Earth. You must know something of what happened to her if you are to help her the way you wish to. The old disks didn't show much, did they? The arrival, gathering of Escudo, random monster battles, bickering, and the Final Battle? Not even the whole Battle. Put that together, and it's nothing. Unreal like a dream and feels like less. Affects you for maybe a few minutes with her in the room right afterwards, and then nothing. You care nothing for her or her history."_

"_That's not true!" she cried. "We _do_ care about her! She's our friend!"_

"_So _prove_ it," he hissed. "Prove to us that Samantha's your friend, that you _truly_ care for her."_

_Fuu said nothing, for what could she say to counter that? Instead, she turned her gaze back to the scenery laid out beneath her. Once again, it had changed._

_This time, the four children appeared to be standing right in front of her, close enough to touch. There was a campfire between the circle of pre-teens and they were laughing and joking, telling stories, even as they fidgeted with their armor and kept their swords within arm's reach. The two blondes were leaning against each other. One of them kept placing a free hand on the ground and giggling as plants instantly sprouted, growing towards the hand as it was pulled away and shrinking as it got closer. One of the girls, a raven-haired one, kept playing with the fire as she spoke, using it as yarn for entertainment. The final girl didn't do anything with the elements, just hugging her knees and chattering away, laughing occasionally._

_Then, suddenly, the fog rolled in again from the sides, and the scene was gone._

_Everything was gone, the magical scenery, the cliff, the boy… Why was it that the loss of the _boy_ worried her most?_

_Fear gripped her and she began running again, hoping for a glimpse of him, a flash of his hair, a glimpse of his shadow. It did not appear, and the fear grew worse, choking her. She needed to shout for him, needed for him to come back and lead her out of this terrifying mist. But she didn't know who he was. She didn't know his name, so how could she call him?_

_Forcing herself to calm down, she considered her possibilities. Hopefully, there was nothing hostile around her: she didn't have her armor. Looking down at her hand, she realized she didn't have the jewel-glove with her sword, either, and so, would be unable to summon her sword should anything happen, not having quite mastered Samantha's attempts to teach them to summon their swords without the gloves. What else could she do?_

"_Pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming," she muttered, jumping when her voice echoed oddly around her. After a moment to calm her beating heart, her fingers found the skin of her arm and quickly closed…_

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

With a yelp of pain, Fuu let go of her arm. _So I _was_ dreaming,_ she realized. Grimacing, she looked down at her arm and discovered a sore red mark.

"Fuu? You okay?" a familiar redhead asked. "You've been asleep for _so_ long. It's afternoon now."

"Really?" the blonde replied with a yawn. "How late?"

"Not that late," she was assured. "We only had lunch an hour or so ago."

"Is Samantha up yet?"

"Nope," Hikaru replied, shaking her head.

"I swear," Umi added from the window, "if I couldn't hear her breathing, I'd say she was dead. That's how deep a sleep she's in."

"Geez," Fuu sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Well, if she's not up yet, I guess there's no real hurry for answers. I'm going to take a shower."

"And then we'll get you lunch," Hikaru chirped.

"Actually, it'll be breakfast," Umi corrected. "She hasn't eaten anything yet."

"So? Lunch is around noon, not breakfast!"

"But breakfast is the first meal of the day!"

Fuu laughed as she heard her two best friends bickering over something so mindless and headed for the bathroom.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Presea sighed and began gently hitting her head against her bedroom wall. What _was_ it that she just couldn't remember? It had something to do with Samantha and some other children, she knew that much. Samantha, her brother, and the other two children, who her mother called Marie and Kathy.

With a groan, the Pharle gave up trying to retrieve the memories. They would return when needed, and until then, Presea would just have to give up remembering anything about Samantha's first trip to Cephiro. Not that she would have much in way of memories anyway, being only two when it started and five when it ended… so long ago.

"I've got to talk to Mother," she sighed and began heading for the door, already considering what she would tell Monica when she arrived unexpectedly. Hopefully, the ex-Chief Pharle wouldn't ask _too_ many questions.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Samantha groaned and pulled the covers over her head as her eyes acknowledged that she was facing into the sunlight. But more sleep was soon discovered to be a failed attempt and the girl forced herself to get up and find a mirror. It would be interesting to see what she looked like.

Unfortunately, her legs had other ideas, nearly giving way the instant they touched the ground. "Damnit," she growled as she had to grab the bedpost for support and sit back down. "Stupid Akran. Stupid _loshii_. Stupid magic. Stupid _me_. I'm an idiot. I _knew_ I was going to get thrashed, and I got in the way anyway. Stupid idiot. If they call me brave or cheer, I'm gonna break something."

Twenty minutes later, her angry musings were interrupted by shouts of joy from the doorway.

"You're awake!" was the main thing and a few variations. Unfortunately, the Magic Knight of Earth did not get to hear the variations, for, before she could turn around to see her guests, she was slammed into at full-force by a reddish streak of lightning.

"'Bout time you woke up!" Hikaru shouted, moving so she could see Samantha and giving the girl another hug. The taller girl felt herself relaxing, not even realizing she had tensed up from the human contact.

"I think you just blew out my eardrums," she said softly, a smile playing on her lips as Umi and Fuu also rushed over to hug her. Hikaru turned as red as her hair and mumbled an apology.

The outside world vanished for a moment as Samantha was granted a bone-crushing group hug. One part of her mind marveled that she wasn't flinching or tensing up. _Then again,_ she thought wryly. _If I'm tense, their hugs will snap me in half._

"Are you okay now?" was the first thing she heard once the arms let go of her.

"Better," the blonde admitted. "Even though I have no idea how I look."

"Horrible," Umi answered instantly. When she realized what she'd said, her face turned red and her eyes got huge. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry! I didn't mean that!"

"I suggest you shut up," Samantha answered, "because it's probably true. Last time this happened, I was informed that I looked like decomposed dead walking for over a week."

"That's gross!" Hikaru retorted. "And you don't look _that_ bad." The reply was a disbelieving snort.

"Hey!" Umi suddenly cried. "Who wants food?" Instantly, Hikaru was clamoring "me, me, me!" over and over again. "We were going to make Fuu eat," the blue-haired girl informed Samantha. "She hasn't even been awake an hour."

"Go without me," the Knight of Earth answered. "I have I feeling I won't be making it down there anytime soon."

"Why not?" Fuu asked. "You _should_ be hungry. You haven't eaten in over a week."

"I can't stand on my own," Samantha managed to explain as her face turned into a cherry. "There's no way I'll make it across the room, let alone all the way down there. Plus everybody would be asking questions. I mean, I haven't _seen_ my hair, but I can feel it, and I know most of it is really short now, and there's still a few really long hanks and none of it in neat…"

"How about we bring the food here?" Umi suggested. "Hikaru and I will get trays of food for the four of us, and Fuu can stay here with you. She can get your hair cut and evened out. She's a perfectionist at everything, so she's got the best chance of getting it right." The response from one blonde was a glare of death; the response from the other was surprised acceptance.

Once the Knights of Fire and Water had left, Fuu muttered something to herself and went to find hair-cutting scissors and a towel.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Samantha called after the smaller girl.

"I know, I know," the Knight of Wind replied, flapping her hand at the other girl. "Now, do you want to do it there, or should we do it in the bathroom? I think the bathroom would be better, because it'll be easy to pick up any loose hairs and you can see yourself in the mirror. It'll be easy to get a chair in here, too."

"I'm fine with it so long as I can get in there," came the response as Samantha tried again to stand. Better, this time. Her legs were still extremely shaky, but they didn't buckle. Hesitantly, holding on to the bedpost, Samantha took a step…

…And stayed standing. Out came a sigh of relief, especially when Fuu came out and helped her into the bathroom where a chair and scissors awaited.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Samantha gingerly felt the top and back of her head as though feeling for injury once Fuu had left, taking the chair, scissors, and towel full of hair with her. Samantha didn't want to offend the other girl by doing it with her present. It just felt so _weird_ to have such short hair again. She still had the same bangs she'd had before she'd been so stupid as to fight one Akran's warriors face-to-face in a _loshii_ cube, though when she put her hand to the rest of her hair, it was just _barely_ long enough that she couldn't feel the ends, though they pricked her fingers when she went backwards. This was going to take some getting used to.

_Now it's like when I met you,_ a voice sounded in her mind as she turned on the water and began stripping. _You do realize now we'll have to work on your balance until you're used to the change?_

"I know that, Chloe," Samantha muttered as she got in the shower and worked on getting clean and ridding herself of the little hairs that had somehow made it beneath her clothes. "It's just going to be weird now, looking in the mirror and seeing Sam staring back at me. Part of why I grew it out. If I looked like a real girl, it wouldn't remind my parents of him and maybe they'd pay attention to me instead of trying to save themselves the pain of looking at a dead person."

_Did it work?_ Chloe asked, sounding truly concerned. The Samantha that was in Cephiro now was such a drastically different person from the Sammy she'd first met that the Guardian knew something was at work beyond the loss of Samantha's brother and two best friends. People only changed so much under an extreme amount of pressure and extraordinary circumstances.

Samantha shrugged, forgetting that the Guardian couldn't see her and could only hear the thoughts Samantha sent her way. "Sort of. I still looked too much like him for their comfort, but at least they were seeing me and not Sam. But being mute made me easily overlooked by everyone. I got used to it."

_Why were you mute?_

"When I got back, I was still hurt… People, law-enforcement people, were asking me what happened. I told the truth. They told me to stop lying. Eventually I gave up and stopped talking. A bit after that, I tried to talk and actually couldn't do it. My voice box didn't work, or my vocal cords, or something. I dunno."

Chloe was quiet then. After a few moments, Samantha assumed she'd gone back to the Shrine completely, no longer reaching past its barriers to touch the Knight's mind.

With a sigh of relief, she relaxed and began to just enjoy the feel of warm water on her skin.

It was when she was getting out and drying off the surprise came.

"Samantha, what food do you want to eat? Do you still not want to go down to the dining hall? Are you—?" The door to the bathroom swung open and Umi's question died in her throat as she froze in the doorway. Hikaru and Fuu bumped into her from behind and looked over her shoulders to see what was so odd.

Samantha had been standing in the middle of the room, reaching for a towel, when the girls showed up and now turned to look over her shoulder at them.

Their attention was latched onto the scars on her back, two large mountains with a sun setting between them. Really, it was almost a large "M" with a half-circle between the two inside slants and little lines coming out of the top of the half-circle. Samantha swore silently, knowing just what they were staring at.

"Do you people not know how to knock?" Samantha demanded, wrapping a towel around herself so she could face them. "Geez, just because the water's not running anymore doesn't mean I'm decent." Catching the looks on the girls' faces, she added, "The only explanation is that I went mad and was in a rock. I got that for fighting back and winning." Then she stalked out of the bathroom, knowing that politeness would force them to move out of the way when she tried to get past, even if their brains had fried. As expected, Umi stepped back and the other two stumbled in the same direction. Once past, Samantha gave the group a shove and they landed on the tile floor of the small bathroom. Smirking, Samantha pulled the door shut and used the drop of power she could safely access to bring the dead wood to just this side of life so the others couldn't open the door and get out.

The door didn't like this and complained. It had _liked_ being a door and didn't want to go back to being part of a tree! Being a tree meant getting hurt!

"I'll take the magic back in a minute and you can be a door again," Samantha muttered to the door, hand still on the wood so she could actually communicate with it.

The tree approved of this plan. It _liked_ being a door.

Five minutes later, Samantha hobbled back over to what had been a bathroom entrance and returned it to its former state.

"You can come out now," she called. "Don't forget you promised to bring me food."

The three Magic Knights swarmed out of the bathroom and headed straight for the hall.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

An hour later, the four girls were sitting on the floor, eating the large meal that had taken Umi and Hikaru each two trips to bring to the chamber. They were all ignoring the awkward situation from earlier. Samantha just didn't want to go into an explanation and the newer girls seemed embarrassed about just barging in the way they had.

Samantha was surprised to realize that she truly enjoyed their company and found herself relaxing in their presence, actually participating in the conversations. _Even though I'm enough brain-dead right now that I don't know what this one is about,_ she admitted to herself.

Suddenly, she was pulled back into the conversation as someone spoke her name.

"Samantha, Earth to Samantha…"

"What?" she asked, startled.

"We were talking about our little family," Hikaru explained patiently. "When Umi, Fuu, and I first showed up, we decided that we would be sisters to each other. Since you're our friend too, wanna join? I mean, you _are_ our friend, right?"

Samantha couldn't say anything for a moment, focusing too hard on that one word: _friends_. Did she really consider them friends? Was what she felt fond acquaintanceship or was it really friendship? It had been so long since she'd felt the latter…

"Yeah, I'm your friend," she said. As she spoke it, she realized the words were true. She really _did_ consider these girls her friends. "I'm your friend."

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

**AN:** Aww, so _cute_ at the end! Of course, it IS past midnight… . So, how'd you like this most recent installment? Like it, hate it? What do you think of Fuu's "dream boy"? Who feels like guessing his name? /feels it should be obvious/


	14. Cephiro

**Disclaimer:** I own only Samantha, Pegasus, Akran and his group (the Myra), the past Knights, their Pillar, Guardians, Cephiro (the spirit of the country) and Corrine. CLAMP, don't kill me.

**Chapter 14**

**Cephiro**

Umi glared at Samantha's bedroom door. _Why_ could that girl not answer a simple question? All the blue-haired girl had done was ask the Earth Knight's age. Since she was in Hikaru's class, she was probably fifteen or sixteen, depending on her birthday and if she had been held back or skipped any grades. What about that was cause for laughter?

After she'd burst out laughing, Samantha had shaken her head at Umi and gone into her room, still laughing her head off. What in the world was so _funny_?

Knowing that the Knight of Earth would not answer her knocks, that the door was locked, and that glaring at it would not change things, the Magic Knight of Water began heading for the kitchen, looking for something to do.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Samantha had long since stopped laughing, instead staring blankly out her window. What she wanted to be true… couldn't be. What she wanted to happen… wouldn't.

The Knight wanted to believe that Cephiro was still sleeping, but Cephiro was awakening to protect itself.

She wanted to believe that she would survive a second encounter with the spirit of the country, but knew she would not. Her will was gone, and she still held enough despair in her heart to counter her stubborn streak.

"I'm going to die this time," she whispered to herself. "Cephiro will take me over, destroy my body, and I will spend eternity in a rock in a wall." Head falling into her raised knees and crossed arms, she groaned, "I'm _so_ screwed."

In a pathetic effort to get her mind off her upcoming death—and Cephiro's salvation—the Magic Knight of Earth turned to the memories of the very awkward training sessions.

Hikaru was happy to learn more, even if she didn't understand her new teacher; Fuu was willing to be taught, though she was extremely reserved and had to be provoked to really put herself into any of the combat dances; Umi… was a stubborn little bitch in the beginning, to put it bluntly. She had no desire to be taught more things, considering what she already knew to be enough, despite the outcome of the skirmish that had caused them to summon their new teacher in the first place. In some ways, it had been nice to have to forcibly beat the lessons into somebody, even if it _was_ somebody with a temper who held grudges.

But as the lessons progressed, the redhead became upset with the lessons, not understanding the logic of the time period where these skills were necessary to survive.

Fuu became more outgoing and she dove into the exercises, if only to minimize the number of bruises at the end. In some ways, Samantha was hardest on the blonde, at first hating the idea of someone trying to take her brother's place, then realizing that Fuu had no clue as to the past or the pain she was causing and stayed being hardest on Fuu to get her up to Hikaru and Umi's level.

Umi had grudgingly concluded that she needed to learn these new skills and became a more willing student, although she complained the most out of the group, especially when Samantha knocked her down and forced her to get back up. Fuu and Hikaru would get up without whining, having learned quicker than their blue-haired friend that whining meant a harder beating.

Lessons went smoother now, especially since they weren't just being taught physical arts. Due to Samantha's reluctance to teach the magical wards and spells that worked best against the Myra, the Mashin and the Guardians had taken it upon themselves to teach the newer Knights magic. This gave Samantha a bit more free time, since the physical lessons had to be cut short to allow for the magical ones. Even allowing for that, however, the physical lessons were as intense as they were short.

Ever since Samantha had woken up from the fight, she hadn't fully trusted her magic… or her body. There was a niggling suspicion in the back of her mind that something bad would happen if she used her magic too much or delved into it too deeply. This was confirmed when she tried a simple spell that involved only her and a hurt puppy and ended up feeling like the entire land was trying to shove itself into her mind. The last time she had been overwhelmed like that was as she was finishing the last steps of the dance spell for Cephiro's summoning, just before her soul was ripped from her body.

Speaking of her body… it wasn't doing that well either. She could walk and talk just fine, but if she tried to do something that would force her to exert herself, her body would usually collapse somewhere along the way. This was part of why she no longer had long lessons for the Knights. Her own body could not do the things she wished, so how could she expect them to be able to?

Now she—with much help from the Guardians, according to the students—was attempting to teach them how to bond their minds to each other, rather than through the Mashin. She could speak directly to their minds, but they were unable to answer her, except when the Mashin were part of the conversation and the girls aimed their thoughts at their elemental partner. These lessons were not going well, for Samantha didn't really know how to explain the bonding of minds between Magic Knights. The bonds she had formed within her group came from the fact that they were constantly together and on the run. It was easier to track one another through attempting to find their magic than by sight, especially in the dark. They had not realized the extent to which their minds were open to one another until Marie was separated from the group and shoved off a cliff. The rest of the group was a bit away and Sam had barely managed to keep the Knight of Fire from smashing into the ground. The screaming of his raven-haired friend inside his mind had not exactly helped his control.

Unconsciously smiling as she remembered Marie's response afterwards—which included much yelling, pain, and hair pulling—Samantha pulled out a pad of paper from her backpack and began to draw.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Fuu wanted the day's lessons to begin… but had no idea when they would start. Ever since grudgingly agreeing to teach them, Samantha had taught them something every day, but there was no set time for lessons. Sometimes they would be early in the morning, other times soon before lights out, still others in the middle of the day. This annoyed Fuu, who liked to have a set schedule, but it also made the lessons more exciting. Another thing that added to the excitement was that as they were leaving, Samantha would give them some sort of subtle clue as to what they would learn next. Yesterday's lesson had ended with no such hint, or at least, none that the Knight of Wind could discover. But then again, considering the way the lesson had went, perhaps they wouldn't be moving on to something new.

In some ways, it would be good to continue the same lesson. None of them had gotten even remotely close to succeeding and it was obvious that this was something Samantha was having problems describing and then teaching. It was disturbing to be told that something was a necessary skill, but the only real way to make them learn it was to separate them and one by one, put them in mortal danger and see who else knew what sort of danger it was. The fact that Samantha didn't believe they could protect themselves in such a situation kept her from doing as she had been taught, though it just made things harder for the newer Knights.

Finally getting fed up with waiting—it was nearly suppertime already—, the Magic Knight of Wind went to find Samantha to see if she would start the lessons soon.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Hikaru was once again in Eagle's room, chatting with him to pass the time. Currently, she was telling him about some recurring dreams she'd been having recently. For some reason, she feared them, though the redhead claimed they weren't nightmares.

"When the dream starts, I'm somewhere that's completely dark and silent. There's no light _anywhere_, but I can see myself. There's no ground, either. I'm just floating. Then, when I think I'm going to go crazy, fire appears. At first, it's just these little flames out of the corner of my eyes. Then they get bigger and bigger until all I can see is fire! It's hot and angry and gets closer and closer until it's almost touching me! Then… it just stops. It doesn't move towards me or away. All of a sudden, there's another girl. She's about my age and has got this _really_ long black hair that twirls around her as she moves. She starts dancing through the fire and it seems to dance with her, trying to please her. It starts to draw away from me, but if I move, it comes back and the girl laughs. The fire doesn't hurt her, even though it's licking her body and seems that it'll consume her. Except it won't." Hikaru sighed. "I'm jealous. I wish fire would obey _me_ like that."

"_No, you don't,"_ the blond countered. _"You would get a bloated ego and then you wouldn't be the Hikaru we all know and love."_

"I guess," the redhead laughed. Then she shook her head and began babbling on about other things to the comatose man.

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

Fuu met her blue-haired friend in the hallway and the 'sisters' decided to search together. Umi was bored because the workers in the castle weren't letting her help out, Clef was busy, and Ascot had inexplicably vanished. Finding Samantha would get an answer to her question from that morning, if nothing else.

After going to the kitchens and finding it devoid of anyone physically under thirty, the girls decided to check the training rooms and then Samantha's bedroom.

It took quite some time, but they eventually discovered that _all_ the training rooms were empty, which was a miracle in and of itself. There was always at least _one_ room in use, no matter the time of day or night.

Starting to wonder if their goal was worth the ache in their feet, the two made their way to the rooms of the Knight of Earth.

"If she's still in there, the door's gonna be locked," Umi complained. "She locked it earlier when she went in there. Samantha's not gonna let us in."

"Of course she will," Fuu replied, confident. "We have questions that need answering." They had just made it to Samantha's door.

"Well, here goes," Umi sighed, obviously not believing the blonde's words.

The knob turned.

The door was unlocked.

"Samantha?" Fuu called, pushing the door open and stepping inside, Umi following. They had to take a moment to let their eyes adjust to the gloom: there were no lights on and the curtains were pulled shut. But then what was that light brown, dim glow in the middle of the room…?

"Samantha?" Umi demanded as she could finally see clearly. The teenager was sitting on the farther bed, the one she had claimed as her own, hunched over with her back to them. The Earth Knight was the source of the glow. "What's going on?"

There was no answer.

After a short amount of silence, Umi got fed up. She was hungry, her feet hurt, and the woman drawing in front of her was the cause of all her problems today!

"Dammit, Samantha! _Answer_ when someone's talking to you!" she shouted, shaking the blonde in question hard by the shoulders.

With a gasp, Samantha's fingers let go of the pencil and the glow instantly disappeared, leaving the Knights suddenly blinded once again.

"Umi?" the Earth Knight whispered fearfully. "Fuu? What… what was I doing?" Then she looked down at the work on her lap as Fuu yanked the drapes open. As her eyes focused on what she had been drawing, she shoved it away with a cry of horror, jerking herself more onto the bed as she did so.

"What was that about?" Umi demanded, still annoyed, though shocked by the reaction.

"I don't want to work that spell," Samantha answered, drawing her knees up to her chest and putting her head down. "If I ever even _see_ it again, it'll already be two too many times."

"What's wrong with the paper?" Fuu asked in confusion as she picked up the pad and stared at the many tiny designs. "It is just many squiggles."

Samantha shuddered. "No, it's not. What's on there is less than half a spell I'll be using soon. That's why I've been shoving so many things at you guys lately in lessons. I'm not going to be here much longer, so I want to know you won't be walking to meet your deaths at the next fight."

"What do you mean you won't be here?" Umi snapped. "We brought you here to _help_ us! None of us are going home until we _win_ this!"

"I won't be going home," Samantha whispered, still terrified. "I'll be going somewhere I'd rather not be and I have no idea if I'll ever get out."

"What sort of spell would do that?" Fuu asked, still looking at the senseless lines on the paper. "I haven't heard of a spell that can destroy someone, except for the Pillar's summoning of the Magic Knights."

"It's called a madness by anyone who records it," Samantha answered. "Get rid of that thing, please. I don't want it near me. I'd probably finish it." Obediently, Fuu ripped off the offending page and crumpled it up, deciding not to place it in the room's trash can, if only for Samantha's peace of mind, slipping it into her skirt pocket instead.

"Madness?" Umi repeated. "You mean you like insanity?"

_Drop the subject,_ a now-familiar voice ordered her silently. _The other Guardians and I will explain the madness of the Earth Knights later. Try to comfort this girl now._

_Yes, John,_ Umi reluctantly agreed. She wanted _answers_ and she wanted them _now_.

"You never answered my question from earlier," she said instead of her inquires. "How old are you?"

Samantha looked up in surprise at that. "Depends on your scale," she admitted, some of her fear banished when the spell was removed from her possession and the rest buried for now. "Earth years, Cephiro years, years I've existed. Which one?"

"Earth years," Fuu said.

"Then I'm sixteen," came the answer.

"And in years you've existed?"

"Nineteen," Samantha replied, noting the shock on her friends' faces. "I've spent sixteen years on Earth and three here. That makes me nineteen."

Before any more questions could come out, Umi's stomach growled loudly.

With a laugh, the girls decided to go get a snack and talk more later. After all, lessons and questions could wait for a few hours until everyone was together and listening, couldn't they?

———²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²°²———

"What's wrong, Clef?" Umi asked the Guru at supper a few hours later. The snack she'd gotten before had been just enough to keep her from trying to stuff herself over-full now. Apparently, dragging Fuu and Samantha to the orchards to laze around didn't do much to make her hungry. "You've been rubbing your forehead and glaring at your food since you sat down." The short man in question looked up and the words seemed to put him in a marginally better mood.

"Nothing important," he replied airily. "I just have the feeling I'm forgetting something." He glared at Samantha, who didn't even look up from her salad.

"Samantha hasn't done anything to you," Hikaru told him, seeing the look.

"He just wants a scapegoat to rant at," the blonde replied absently between bites. "I'm still the new one and he doesn't like me, so I'm the obvious choice."

The redhead just gaped at this lack of caring. "But—"

"Bye, I'm done, see you later," Samantha interrupted rapidly, standing up and carrying her dishes to the kitchen. The blonde didn't think she could handle another confrontation now, no matter the kind. She had loads of excess energy she needed to work off from all the useless worrying she'd been doing. Practice always helped exhaust her body and clear her mind.

Shrine or practice room was the main question just now, while she was shoving foreknowledge and experience to as far back in her mind as she could. Having a meltdown over something she couldn't change wouldn't make it go away or get better.

The practice rooms were small, but a closed door usually meant that everyone else respected privacy and wouldn't interrupt unless a sign on the door said otherwise. So she would be able to exhaust herself until she could think and act rationally, all alone without an audience. The lack of an audience could be a problem, though, if she was working on a pattern that was difficult for her. An observer might be able to correct her problems. But what if her magic got away from her like it had that afternoon?

The shrine could contain her magic if it got away from her. The main room where she could practice was larger and more spacious than the practice rooms of the castle. She would have all the other Earth Knights as instructors if she made mistakes and they wouldn't give her any room to think, but she would have to use magic to get there. Her powers were already unstable with that spirit stirring and any use of them could bring the thing into full awareness and Samantha to a rock in the back wall of the Shrine of the Earth.

Then, without warning, the choice was taken from her.

_Oh__…_ The hallway began to swirl around her, twisting into runes of powers and back into the hallway, over and over. _God in heaven help me, it's here._

The screams as her soul was ripped from her body echoed all over the castle.

**AN:** GOMEN NASAI!! You waited so long AND I made it super-short! /kowtows/ I think we're actually over halfway through this monster now, but does anyone want to be my beta and let me bounce ideas off them in addition to helping me edit?


End file.
